Scarlet Summer Snow
by Ataralle
Summary: In Arendelle Academy, school for the naturally gifted, Anna has always been the top star as a fire starter. Life was grand for her until her mother decided to remarry. Enter her new rival, Elsa, the transfer student, ice maker, and… Her new older step-sister? How is she to deal with the new addition to her life when they not only clash in power, but in personalities, as well?
1. Prologue

**Scarlet Summer Snow**

By: Ataralle

**Prologue**

"Ah! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" the redhead shouted at the top of her lungs as she sprinted through the campus, a bottle of chocolate milk gripped tightly in one hand as she chugged it down, and her bag shouldered in another.

"Anna, slow down!" someone yelled when she nearly crashed into them. Lucky for this person and her, she had fast reflexes and immediately dodged with a twirling spin to the left.

"My bad~!" she hollered.

A tolling bell began to ring as she rounded the corner of the building, which prompted her to hustle even more. So absorbed was she in being prompt that she hadn't had time to make use of her reflexes before she head-butted into another person.

_My chocolate milk!_ Anna screamed dramatically in her head when her milk went flying. She could literally see the bottle falling to the ground oh-so slowly. "Wait, it _is_ falling slowly!" she exclaimed. She noted how her milk had turned into ice chocolate milk before it landed into a pile of snow.

"Excuse me…"

Anna's eyes shot from her drink to the one who she had just noticed was below her. "Watch where you're going next time!" she blurted out as she immediately pulled away, brushing her uniform off of dirt and making her way to the pile of snow. She poked the fluffy white with her boot, testing to see if it was real. "Well, what do you know? It's snow in the middle of summer. Hah, that's not weird at all," she let out a laugh as she dug and pulled out her only breakfast for the day in silent appreciation. "I'm saved~" she hummed happily before turning to the one she stumbled across with a slight frown.

The one before her was now sitting, and Anna had to wonder who she was. No uniform, no staff identification tag, no nothing…

"Who are you?" the redhead asked with furrowed brows.

The platinum blonde female looked up curiously at the question. Her azure orbs glinted with a profound sense of aesthetic beauty that Anna found herself admiring upon locking eyes with her. Just then, another round of tolling began, and the redhead recalled that she was late for class; _really_ late, for that matter. There was absolutely no way she could make it to class now.

She grumbled out, "I'm late because of you."

The blue eyes widened slightly before looking down, a faint blush coloring her pale cheeks. Anna noted how her hands fidgeted and wryly clasped one another.

_Am I scaring her? _The thought bothered her, though she couldn't place why. Sighing and cursing her guilty conscience, Anna padded over to her and gave her an outstretched hand. "Here," she mumbled out, gaining her own blush at the notion. "Sorry about that. I was in a real hurry, and I wasn't watching where I was going. My bad."

Those same charming eyes peered up hesitantly before grasping hold of the offered hand. Her touch was extremely chilled to the touch, Anna noted, somewhat shocked at the discovery.

"Apology accepted. I… was not paying much attention to where I was going, either. For that, I also apologize," the blonde muttered softly, wringing a hand over a braid on her shoulder.

"It's fine, it's fine~" Anna waved it off dismissively with a flap of her hand. Letting out another sigh, she said aloud, "Well, Mr. Oaken is already going to kill me over being late to his class. I should just ditch it entirely…" She absentmindedly shook her bottle of frozen milk as she pondered the choice over.

The one beside her arched a brow and suppressed a smile. "Do you normally ditch?"

"No. My mom is strict about school. It's just that the teacher I have this period is a real stickler on punctuality," Anna supplied, bringing the bottle up, expecting to taste chocolate on her tongue. But, nothing came out. Puzzled, she pulled it away and remembered it was frozen. "Dang it."

Realizing the milk was frozen, her companion started, "Oh, I—"

"—I'm heading home," Anna cut in. She took a glance at the blonde. "Aren't you going to class?"

She opened her mouth for a moment before closing it. She tried again and said, "I was actually looking for a mansion."

The redhead's ears perked at that. "What mansion?"

"The Arendelle mansion."

Slightly wary of that, Anna inquired, "Why do you need to find this mansion?"

"I'm supposed to meet someone. Miss Arendelle, the founder of Arendelle Academy."

Anna's brows hiked up to her hairline. "I could take you there," she informed, automatically assuming this woman, no matter how young she may appear, is a major business partner, or something of the sort.

"Thank you," the blonde murmured softly, looking a bit embarrassed. "Ah, my name is Elsa. And you are?"

The redhead began to walk the direction she came from as her new companion followed. "It's Anna. I'm seventeen."

As they climbed the steps to the entrance after the silent walk, a servant opened the grand doors. What was her name, Anna couldn't remember for the life of her. But, the maid invited them in whilst holding the door.

"I see you've met our guest," she said.

"Yeah… She wants to see mom," Anna replied curtly. "Elsa, you can follow her the rest of the way. I'm off to get another bottle of chocolate milk before I head to my next class."

"Oh, but I—" Elsa began again, but halted when the redhead disappeared into a room, the door slamming shut behind her in a stark show of finality.

"Don't mind her, miss. Miss Anna is always like that when it concerns her favorite," the maid reassured the newcomer. "Please, right this way."

Elsa nodded and followed, her eyes taking one last look at the closed door Anna walked through.

* * *

Her teal eyes looked around as she smirked and noted how the crowd seemed to have increased dramatically in the minute that just passed. She flicked her hand idly, her fingertip ignited by a small flame. With a soft whistled blow towards the flickering fire, it abruptly lengthened and coiled around her hand, then arm, its colors turning multifarious as it did so.

Her fellow classmates applauded, their mouths agape in wonder.

"Amazing, Anna! You're in your third year, but you can control your gift so easily and with so much control, it's like you're a senior!" one girl commented from the side.

"Fire starter, Anna! It's no wonder they call you that. It's so fitting~" another student praised.

"Ah, I'm so jealous~ Not only are you skilled at using your power, your power itself is cool!" a boy chimed in.

_Slam!_

"Alright, kids. Get to your seats. Gift handling class will now begin," a somewhat elderly man announced as he strode into the room with a clipboard in hand. When he no longer heard the clattering and scratching of things on the floor, he peered up and scrutinized the class critically. "I'll now begin attendance. Ms. Arendelle?"

Anna raised her hand. "Present."

"Mr. Isles?" the roll call continued, and another redhead stood, just two seats before Anna.

"Here!" he answered as he stood.

Anna began to drift off as she turned her attention to the massive stained glass window to the left. It was only after the words "transfer student" left her teacher's lips that she was deterred from her idle musings and settled her eyes back to the podium out of curiosity.

"This is Elsa Arendelle."

Anna's green eyes widened into saucers at the introduction.

Blue eyes scanned her new classmates before settling on Anna. She gave her a small smile as a form of greeting. Stepping before the board, she wrote her name: E-L-S-A A-R-E-N-D-E-L-L-E. "Hello. My name is Elsa Arendelle, eighteen. My gift is ice making. Pleased to meet you all."

A round of applause thundered, though only one person did not participate.

For a moment, the fire starter merely gazed in open shock at the blonde. She shifted her eyes to the board and read the name, once, twice, thrice. Sure enough, this girl's family name was _Arendelle_.

_What is going on?!_ Anna screeched internally.

**Disclaimer:** Since there's just no way I'm going to remember to put a disclaimer in each chapter, just know that this counts for the entirety of the story. The only thing here I own is the plot, sadly. Disney owns Frozen and everything else, including the amazing characters. All other Disney movie characters like Rapunzel, Flynn, Snow White, Belle, Jack Frost, Beast, Cinderella, Merida, etc. who may or may not pop out later are all not mine, either.

**A/N:** So, this is incest, but not really. It's actually pseudo-incest, for lack of better definition. This story might change to M in later chapters. *nudges* That was my warning, by the way. Now, as for explanations, the setting is actually modern, with a spice of fantasy since all the students in this gifted school have powers. So far, you know Anna is fire and Elsa kept true to her form from the movie as ice. Anyways, please review~ Tell me what you think. They motivate me to update faster! Till next time~ :D


	2. Step One: Fire and Ice

**A/N:** I don't really proofread and I have no beta, so if there are mistakes anywhere, sorry in advance. O.o Now that I actually have a plot set up, I realized that the genre of fantasy had to be changed since angst has a more profound meaning to the story... Oh, who am I kidding? I'm a sucker for angst and romance~ And wow, so many views/faves/follows, but so very little reviews… TT^TT *sighs* I'm in total pouting mode. XD Lol. Enjoy your reading~

**Summer Scarlet Snow**

By: Ataralle

**Step One: **Fire and Ice

With a flick of her wrist, ice erupted from the ground in concentrated spikes, warding off the redhead's earlier advances.

Abruptly, she swayed her arms to the left, right, and shot them back, a burst of flames shooting out and propelling herself forward with incredible speed. She took a massive leap and swayed her body in midair to avoid the oncoming gusts of prickly snow. Her eyes narrowed, and she could feel the sting from the onslaught.

Elsa took a deep breath as she gripped the necklace in her hands and flipped backwards, using her other arm to steady herself with each dodge of the redhead's blazing punches and kicks. Shutting her eyes, she blew out the held breath, and a rough tumbling blizzard met Anna head-on.

Anna ground her teeth together in displeasure. She always hated the cold. Her fire powers were always weakened because of water and cold. Ice and snow wasn't any better, she found herself thinking.

It dawned on Elsa that the fire starter would keep pushing forward, and she found herself smiling at that. Not many could withstand her ice and have the courage to keep going. She gripped the trinket in her fingers tightly and waved her other hand with grace. A thick layer of ice propped itself before her and her adversary, followed by another.

Anna smirked at the show of defense. She couldn't help feeling euphoric. This transfer student was the most challenge she's had since enrolling into Arendelle so many years ago, and it excited her. Her blood was boiling with anticipation, and it showed in her attacks against the crystalline wall.

The blonde bit her lip at the redhead who furiously sent a barrage of fire and sparks at her. She took a step back, and another, silently wondering when the exercise would end, _praying_ it would soon.

As if to answer her inner wish, the beeping of the timer sharply cut into the tension. Heads snapped at the sound, realizing the mock duel was over. The crowd was silent as they appraised the two who had halted their movements upon the sound of the incessant beeps. Whispers spread like wildfire, and even the teacher had been left utterly flabbergasted at the display of prowess and sheer power from the two.

"W-well, that's not good. We've never had that happen before," Mr. Kai stated aloud. "Anna Arendelle, are you alright? Were you really trying?" he asked, feeling the need to question the strange happening. This was the first time two opponents competing for the first place position managed to keep standing after the time limit.

Anna looked somewhat insulted at the inquiry. "Are you questioning my diligence?" Her eyes strayed from the teacher to her opponent and added, "Or her skill?"

Elsa's brows shot up at the slyly placed compliment.

The teacher merely let out a defeated sigh and announced to the class, "Well, I suppose there's no helping it. Our number one spot is now going to be appointed to two people. Needless to say, this is rather strange in and of itself. However, as you all have witnessed, these two have displayed equal ability in a fair and weighted match. As of now, Anna Arendelle and…" He paused for a moment to recall the other's name, but no such luck, it seemed.

"Elsa Arendelle," Anna supplied with a smirk.

"Right, right. Elsa—What?" Mr. Kai halted and turned to Anna, who merely nodded. "Elsa Arendelle…" he lamely finished.

The bell tolled and the once silent class of whispers burst forth into loud conversing as they all exited the training room.

Elsa looked at Anna, eyeing the parts of the redhead's uniform damaged by the match. "I'm sorry. I tried to keep my powers from ruining your clothes, but I see that was in vain," she started, scratching her cheek awkwardly.

"Never mind that. Where did you learn to fight like that?" Anna replied, a roguish grin overtaking her complexion.

Confused, Elsa answered, "I didn't…"

At that, Anna dropped her excitement. "What do you mean? You have to have learned from somewhere."

"I… I more or less just stayed in my room. I always have. I never had a teacher for fighting, just tutors for lessons on activities like violin, tennis, fencing, piano, horseback riding, and… Well, those kinds of things." Elsa hoped that would suffice as an answer.

"Hm…" the redhead hummed, suspicious. She could tell the subject was a sore topic for the blonde by how she fidgeted under her gaze. If only to show her appreciation for the engaging match, she decided to bring out an entirely different conversation. "So, how do you like Arendelle so far? It's your third day here already. You must have some sort of an impression by now."

Elsa considered the question a moment. "It's… a much friendlier place than I initially thought it to be."

"What do you mean 'initially'? Hah, what did you think it was going to be like? Sure, we have some classes that are way off the normal radar for other schools, but still, it's a school."

"I was expecting a more hostile atmosphere, to be honest…" the blonde elaborated. She met Anna's gaze and a sparkle of amusement coursed through those bright blue eyes. "Although, you proved me wrong with how we met. The first person I stumbled across in this school happened to be a hotheaded fire starter who was late for school." A small smile danced at her lips.

"Oh, uh… Wow. I mean, yeah. I guess I should apologize for that. I thought you were actually a business partner here to see my mom when you said you came here looking for the mansion. Oh, but I don't mean that you looked old or anything like that. Not that you're old, you're really young—Oh, but you don't have a baby face, that's not what I mean at all." Anna tried to explain, stumbling like she always did when she got anxious. "I mean, you just look absolutely beautiful, so there's no way you could be mistaken for a child, and—Shutting up now before I embarrass myself even more…"

Elsa suppressed the urge to giggle at that. "You struck me as the headstrong type of person…"

"That's cause I am!" Anna exclaimed, a tint of red blossoming on her cheeks.

This time, Elsa let it out. She laughed even more when the redhead gave her a look of embarrassment. "That's cute," she commented.

Anna turned away, grumbling to herself about how pathetic it was that a little giggle and a well-placed smile was all it took to get her flustered.

Before either of them could continue their friendly banter, the bell tolled, signaling the start of the next class.

"Oh…" The two let out in unison.

They looked at each other, paused, and let out a laugh.

"Looks like I made you late again," Elsa said, grabbing her bag and walking out the door beside the fire starter.

"It's fine. You're late, too. So, I won't be the only one being reprimanded," Anna countered, sticking her tongue out in satisfaction. It was the first time she ever felt she could joke with anyone in school without irritating them, and she thoroughly enjoyed it.

* * *

At the end of the next class, it was time for lunch. Anna went to the cafeteria, hoping there was still some chocopan for her to chow down on. Though, she had a feeling Lady Luck was not on her side this time around when her eyes landed on the bread display.

There had been a recent marginal decline of the chocopan, which was new to her. She was really the only one who ever ate that type of bread in school, so to say she was perplexed by the sudden change didn't adequately describe her thoughts.

She rang the bell on the counter and when the baker stepped up, she asked, "Are you not selling chocopan anymore?"

"Chocopan…?" A momentary look of perplexity crossed the woman's face. "Oh, you mean the chocolate bread? We only order a limited amount every month. Not many eat it, so we keep it at sixty per month. And we only make three available to the school a day, at most. You're our only real regular in regards to that, Ms. Arendelle," the baker answered.

From the side, another baker stepped up and stated, "Though, for the past two days now, another one has come and purchased all we have on display."

A sudden burst of annoyance filled Anna. "Who…?" _No one messes with me and my chocolate!_

"Huh? You don't know?"

"I'm asking you, aren't I?" was the redhead's retort.

"Your sister," came the simple reply.

Anna paused and blinked. "Who?"

The bakers exchanged looks. "Elsa," they both answered. "Elsa Arendelle."

Eyes growing wide, Anna bolted out of the cafeteria and out into the outside parking lot. "She's the one who's been buying the chocopan!" she murmured in a pout under her breath as she turned. A loud cry reached her ears, and she stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide. She dived to the nearest bush and waited, trying to figure out who that was and what was happening.

"Yo, that's enough. You're forgetting that girl is an Arendelle," a voice Anna couldn't place sounded in the air filled with labored gasps.

"Hah. She's only adopted. She's not legitimate," another one taunted.

Anna's eyes narrowed at the implications. _Are they talking about Elsa…?_ The thought left a sour taste in her mouth.

A loud _wham_ echoed, but instead of a cry, there was a quiet hiss.

"Acting tough now, huh? Just cause you're an Arendelle, you think you can just use your stupid connections and get to the top of the ladder that easily? You've got another thing coming!"

The sounds pricked Anna's ears and she got curious. Truthfully, she hated when there was brutality amongst students. It always irked her that the friendly atmosphere grew tainted by the tension of ambition. So, she plastered on her best peeved expression and she allowed herself to be heard as she left her hiding spot.

The two students sensed it; the unmistakable aura that is Anna Arendelle. Without even looking behind them, they both took off into a sprint.

Anna frowned disapprovingly. _Not only harassers, but cowards, too_. She made a mental note to herself to find those two again and teach them not to mess around with other students. She let out a loud sigh before turning to leave. But, a gleam of golden hair caught her attention and she directed her gaze at the blonde sprawled on the grass.

"… Elsa…?" she hesitantly called out.

Blue eyes snapped open. Anna gawked at the blonde, and Elsa frowned.

"Why are you here?" Elsa asked softly as she sat up straight and let out a light groan.

_Did those two really just…? To Elsa?! How dare they…?_ Anna clenched her teeth, her jaw muscles visibly tense. "For how long has this been happening…?" she growled. Her blazing eyes could literally burn a hole through a wall.

"Not long," Elsa replied, her voice hoarse. She stood up and dusted herself off, wincing every so often. Looking around, she finally found her bag and stalked over to it only to reach in and take out chocolate bread. She quickly unwrapped it and began to munch.

Anna's face contorted as she watched blood dribble down Elsa's chin from a cut on her lips. "Elsa, what was that about?" she tried again as she inched towards the blonde.

The ice maker stopped for a moment and lowered the bread. "Something about being at the top because I'm an Arendelle… Even if I'm just adopted… Or something…"

Anna took out a handkerchief and wiped the crimson away when she was close enough. At close proximity, she noted just how disheveled the blonde was. Her uniform was tattered on her elbows and knee-length socks, and her usually tamed braid was unruly. Grime covered her from head to toe, but Elsa didn't seem to pay much attention to how badly her condition was. And that, more than anything, made a knot coil in Anna's stomach with unrestrained fury.

"I'm sorry I caused you trouble again," Elsa started. "I seem to be good at attracting it."

"It's not your fault," Anna hissed back. "Now, shut up and let me see to your condition."

Elsa let out a small laugh, and Anna had to wonder if she'd lost her marbles. "What's so funny?"

"It's cute. I'm supposed to be the older sister, but you're the one taking care of me," Elsa supplied jovially.

"Sister… Oh, right… I forget sometimes…" Anna responded dully as she continued wiping away at the stains all over Elsa's face. _At least she doesn't seem to be bruised anywhere…_ Then, she remembered the cries from earlier and she grimaced. "Take off your shirt," she commanded.

Elsa's brow rose in question and her laughter died down. "Pardon?"

"You heard me. Take off your shirt. I want to see your upper body."

An intense red covered the ice maker's complexion. She gaped at the redhead. "Anna, I'd rather not."

The fire starter was not taking 'no' for an answer. She backed the blonde up against a tree and gripped the clasps of her dress shirt. "Then, I'll undress you myself."

"N-no, stop!" Elsa exclaimed. She struggled a moment before she managed to get away from her sister and sprinted to her next class. A groan escaped her lips at the pain she felt and at the recollection of the fact that her next class was also with Anna.

* * *

"Alright. Does anyone not have a partner?" their teacher asked, sweeping the room from side to side to see any hands raised. "No? Magnificent. Now, get together and I'll announce the start of the exercise."

Anna rolled her eyes as she made her way to the blonde. "_You,_ missy, have some explaining to do," she ground out before plopping beside Elsa.

Elsa merely arched a brow. "I apologize if you wanted to be paired with someone else."

_Not exactly what I was talking about, and she knows it, too… _The redhead grimaced. "Well, it's to be expected. I'm at the top of the year, after all. Of course Ms. Gerda would make me your partner."

The blonde was silent for a few moments before she grabbed the contraption with multiple protruding wires. She scrutinized the colors before grabbing the pliers and waited for the signal from their teacher.

"Two minute countdown begins…" Ms. Gerda began, trailing off, before booming out with a hand flurry, "NOW!"

Immediately, neon lights of green, red, yellow, and orange sparked to life on every group's wire-infested object. The numbers began at 2:00, and steadily dropped.

Anna watched her partner with intrigue, slightly impressed by how the new student seemed to handle the equipment with the grace and seeming faultlessness found in experts. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"Well, movies have always said that the red wire is the one to snip, right?" Elsa quipped.

Anna gave her a pointed look but said nothing. _How can you act so naturally after what happened earlier?_ Her green eyes travelled over Elsa's body, noting how the blonde's uniform was crisp and clean, how her braid was back to its naturally alluring form. _Wait, alluring…?_ She gazed at the full crimson lips of her sister and sighed. Her lips had stopped bleeding, too, as if nothing even happened.

"Too bad the movies don't point at the fact that bomb deactivation depends on what type of bomb it is," Elsa commented, striking Anna out of her reverie. She hummed thoughtfully, just eyeing the object in her hands, never even twitching to move it in the slightest.

_At least she's aware of the possible tilt switches…_ Anna thought to herself with wry amusement. She watched how those cobalt eyes critically moved from one point to another before it went back to a specific wire.

The redhead rolled her eyes, swiping the pliers from her partner and quickly snipping the wire in question.

Elsa's eyes widened and an incredible frown marred her elegant features. She looked at the timer display, watching it flash once and twice.

Anna had to suppress the urge to scream at her partner when the detonator only flashed two times before the entirety of the bomb was webbed in by an intricate surface of ice. "Elsa…" she hissed.

Ms. Gerda walked by, but stopped and went back to them upon catching sight of the frozen item in the blonde's hands.

"Oh? You had the orange one, huh? Very well done, Ms. Arendelle," she commended the new student with a satisfied smile. Turning to Anna, she praised, "I knew I was right to leave her in your capable hands."

The fire starter looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"You got the rigged bomb, Ms. Arendelle," the teacher elaborated. "I've been waiting to use that bomb on someone, but doing so would be an automatic fail."

"So, why'd you give it to us?" Anna murmured irately.

"I had faith you would be capable of figuring it out. And Elsa's ice magic was practically made for this," she replied, patting the pair on the shoulder before walking off, only to stop before another pair and give what looked to be a pointed lecture.

Anna bit her lip in discomfort. "That's a new one."

"I'm sorry. I should have asked for your consent first, but there was little time," Elsa softly said, twiddling with the frozen bomb.

_She apologizes for things that aren't even her fault… _The fire starter let out a heavy breath. "Why are you apologizing? You just saved me from failing…"

Before the blonde could reply, the bell rang, and the teacher announced, "Alright, time's up. If you have not disabled your bomb yet, you have failed this trial. You may go to your next class. Have a wonderful day, children!"

There were multiple groans of frustration as shuffling of feet made their way to the door.

Anna huffed and grabbed her things before following the crowd. She would get Elsa to talk when they get home, where she wouldn't be able to escape. She stopped at the entrance, took a look back, and found Elsa rummaging through her messenger bag. Bewildered at that, she stood firm in her spot, eyeing the blonde's expression of desperation. Fear seemed to settle in those sapphires, and Anna had to wonder what was wrong with her.

"It's gone…" she breathed out hoarsely. She quickly packed everything and headed for the door, only to pause for a moment to give her sister a slight nod of acknowledgement and a smile.

The redhead couldn't help the small frown that made its way to her lips.

* * *

When school was finally over, Anna made it a point to find Elsa. She wandered the halls aimlessly, until she spotted a crowd from outside the window. Her brows knitted together before continuing on her way.

In the center on that crowd was a certain platinum blonde with her back against the school's brick wall. "I just… want it back," she said softly.

"But, we told you, it's not yours!" one girl said. "My boyfriend gave it to me, you hear? Isn't that right, honey?" She coyly let out a smirk as the boy beside her nodded vigorously.

"Please, it's really important to me…" Elsa tried again, her voice seemingly going unheard as the couple turned to leave. "I need it back."

They didn't get very far, as the grass before them caught fire. Their eyes widened in synch as they caught sight of auburn locks splayed around in the air from the wind. Audible gulps ensued from the crowd and from the couple as they made out the utter ire in the newcomer's blazing orbs.

"Is this what seniors are really doing in their pastime? Harassing their underclassmen? Not only are you all too terrified to do it yourself, you cowards, but you had to lure her away where she couldn't even ask for help," the redhead hissed out, obviously upset.

"Anna," Elsa breathed in surprise. "Why are you…?"

Anna completely ignored her and continued her assault, walking straight to the pair before her eyes.

"S-stand back! We're the victims here. We're the ones in danger!" the male blurted out in a panic.

Wry laughter left the fire starter's throat. "Right. One against many, I think she's the one in danger here." With a clipped tone and narrowed eyes, she added, "Even if that were true, there's no way I would ever take your word for it."

"You don't understand what she's capable of!" the pair defended themselves.

"I know what she could've done instead of letting you guys trample all over her, if that's what you mean." Anna let out a devilish grin, holding out her hand as it burst into flames. "Sadly, I'm not as kind as Elsa over there, so…" She paused for dramatic effect. "If you don't want to turn into charred meat, I suggest you give her back what you stole and hightail yourselves out of my sight. Cause if I do see you again…" She trailed off, flames growing more vibrant.

That was all she needed to say before the crowd dispersed. The girl turned and flung something at Elsa, who caught it and let out a sigh of relief. The pair, too, fled the scene.

Elsa looked up at Anna with unshed tears. "Thank you…" she mumbled out, clutching the object to her chest.

Anna felt her heart ache at the sight, and she couldn't suppress the tender smile that came to her lips as her older sister embraced her. "You're welcome…" she mumbled softly, letting her instincts take over and reciprocated the affection.

**A/N:** Review...? Review! Pretty please~?


	3. Step Two: Chocolate and Tea

**Scarlet Summer Snow**

By: Ataralle

**Step Two:** Chocolate and Tea

A series of whispers travelled across the room in excitement before another round of clapping from Mr. Weselton to signal attention brought the students into silence.

Running his fingers into his hair to slick his wig back, he coughed and waited a moment. "Remember, these people will have to meet certain requirements." The elderly teacher asked, readying his marker to write, "_Now_, does anyone want to suggest a candidate?"

The redhead's mind instantaneously arrived towards a certain blonde and she let the idea twirl in her head. She had thought about entering the contest for quite a while, as she had done for the past two years (and won). An impish smile broke through her neutral features as a subtle plan formulated. Invigorated, she raised her hand.

"Yes, Mr. Isles?"

"I suggest Miss Arendelle," a redhead proposed.

Anna's head instantly looked over at who it was and found Hans Isles, two rows before her in his assigned seat. She was slightly shocked seeing as how they never talked, but she shrugged it off and kept her hand raised. If nothing else, she figured he was secretly a supporter of hers. _Ha! Fat chance of that happening._ She shot the idea down without a second thought.

"Ah, yes, yes. Anna Arendelle. She certainly cannot be excluded," Mr. Weselton said aloud as he wrote the name down sloppily and promptly turned around to face the class once again. His eyes landed on Anna but before he could call on her, Hans spoke again.

"_Actually_, I was referring to the _other_ Arendelle," he clarified, wringing his gloved hands together. "That is, I'm talking about Elsa. Elsa Arendelle."

A wave of gasps erupted throughout the classroom, accompanied by wide eyes from the fire starter. Another bout of hushed conversations bloomed but Anna kept her gaze locked on the fellow redhead.

Their homeroom teacher clapped repeatedly for a few minutes before order was restored. When it was, his beady eyes fell on Hans. He let out a sigh once he finished considering the facts; Hans was a good student, at the top of his class, just below Anna Arendelle. With a frown, he erased the fire starter's name and wrote 'Elsa Arendelle' down on the board before proceeding to call on Anna.

"Er, um… I-I mean… Or rather… I suggest myself…?" Anna stuttered out questioningly with a sheepish expression. _That was so not what I wanted to say!_

Grey brows crinkled together at the center of the teacher's forehead. "Of course," he agreed, wondering why he even bothered to erase the redhead's name in the first place. It was bound to pop up from other classes' homerooms, as well, he knew.

Silence ensued.

Mr. Weselton stood on standby for a minute before he asked, "Is that all? That's quite a few less suggestions than what we had last year."

"Last year, Anna was considering not participating!" someone from the back retorted, followed by a roar of laughter from the surrounding students. "But, if anyone in our class can go up against her and not break anything, I say you put Hans Isles down!"

With a nod in which his hair fell forward before slipping back into place, the teacher swiftly wrote it and slammed the marker down. "As of now, our only contestants from Hibiscus seem to be Anna Arendelle and Hans Isles. Then, there's Elsa Arendelle from Lily. Regardless, if any of you have other candidates in mind, you must tell me by tomorrow. Alright, Hibiscus third year homeroom class is over."

As punctual as ever with his dismissal, the bell rang in accordance, signaling the end of school. The students and teacher rushed out the door in a single file line. A certain redhead, with back leaned against the doorframe, waited for a certain other redhead.

A student shouldered his bag and headed for the door, as well, only to stop before smoldering teal eyes. "H-hey, there…" he greeted with a small wave, stepping two inches back. "… Something I could do for you?"

"Yeah, you could give me an answer to my question. What was that about?" Anna shot straight to the point, planting her feet firmly on the ground.

"What do you mean?" Hans asked. When Anna refused to retreat, he hazarded a guess. "Is it about making Elsa a candidate?"

Anna nodded. "Yes, it is."

Hans' lips pursed into a thin line. "Honestly? I figured it would be amazing to watch her compete. I was utterly in awe from watching her match with you during gift class, you know. To think she could hold you off as long as she did… It's an impressive feat."

The redhead crossed her arms on her chest and let out a sigh.

"What's the big deal, anyway? I wasn't the only one who was thinking it would be interesting to watch. If not me, then she would have been chosen from another class, guaranteed," Hans mumbled defensively. "Sides, judging from your earlier reaction, you were going to do so, yourself." When Anna made no move to counter his statement, he adjusted his uniform and walked past her. "Good day to you."

The redhead remained still as she listened to the retreating footsteps. Once gone, she shouldered her messenger bag and ambled out of the room.

* * *

"We're home," Anna called out into emptiness as she and Elsa entered the mansion, severely sodden to the bone by the sudden downpour. It was confounding to her how such good weather could possibly take a turn for the worst in the blink of an eye, but she decided that since they made it back home in one piece, there was no point in dwelling on it.

Elsa quickly kicked off her boots, set them straight, and plodded inside, her drenched socks slapping against the star-like marble floor.

Anna watched the blonde with interest before she disappeared upstairs. A sneeze broke through and she shuddered. Suddenly remembering her current state, she followed her sister's example, though she didn't bother to fix her own set of footwear. Making her way up the grand staircase, she began to unbutton her uniform.

The sound of rustling filled her ears as she passed by the tightly shut door of her new sister. It had already been five days since she met the blonde, but she still couldn't quite get used to the thought of having a sibling. Yes, she was protective of Elsa, she admitted. But, that stemmed from her respect for her as an equal. After all, they did share the position of top star in school now. Not to mention she was naturally just opposed to the idea of anyone tainting the school with their warped desires that would later reap negative results.

Anna scrunched her brows together in displeasure as she delved into thought. _They're still bullying her, too, aren't they?_ Granted, Anna had made it a point to walk Elsa to her classes, but some things were just impossible. Her classes being in opposite directions at times made it difficult to stay close. _Hopefully, this will work…_

"… Did you need something?"

Anna's head shot up at the voice, only to meet Elsa's cerulean gaze. Her sister had already changed out of her slopping uniform and into a comfortable grey cardigan and navy blue sport shorts, her feet covered by fluffed footwear. When she looked around, she realized she had unwittingly stopped before the blonde's door.

"N-not really, no," Anna stammered hurriedly. "Y-you change really quickly!"

Elsa smiled and stated, "And you're still in uniform, completely soaked. You'll catch a cold if you don't change soon."

"For your information, I actually emit natural heat. I'm a fire starter, remember?" the redhead retorted smugly with arms crossed over her chest. "You're the one who needs to change right away."

The elder of the two's lips curled up into a slightly broader smile. "And I'm naturally tolerant to the cold, wet weathers as an ice maker. I'm also not required to change as quickly as I did."

_Well, you just got served…_ Anna bluntly thought to herself. Nevertheless, she kept her smirk on and played it cool. _If all else fails, I can always beat you at a staring contest!_

"Oh, Anna," Elsa laughed, bringing her hand to cover it up a little.

Anna let out a 'hmph' as she did an exaggerated turn and stalked off to her room. "I'll meet you at the veranda?" she asked softly, her head poking out from her room. Her eyes shined with anticipation, and Anna could tell Elsa's was, too.

The blonde nodded and the redhead beamed. There was silent understanding present. Having snack time on the mansion's fifth floor veranda that flourished the view of an exquisite lake had unwittingly become a habitual pastime for the past three days. The two sisters would always make their way there upon arriving back from school, where they would keep one another company for a few minutes before going about their individual business. Anna, for her part, decided she would use that time to tell the ice maker about the process behind Arendelle's annual contest.

She rapidly chose to wear a striped long-sleeved shirt of green and grey topped with an ebony vest, along with light blue shorts. She dumped her uniform into the laundry bin in a closet down the hall and headed up the stairs.

Once standing before the glass door of the veranda, she took in the sight of Elsa sitting elegantly with a leg over the other on the left side of the round marble table, as she always did. A teacup rested on her left hand, the rim of it grazing full lips. The right held a book of cerise leather binding, her blue eyes perusing through the pages behind black framed glasses.

A smile formed on Anna's lips as she opened the door and stepped through, taking in the sound of the pouring rain, pelting on the waterproof material above their heads only to slide off and tumble to the sides, creating a cascading show of water. With purpose, she strode into Elsa's line of sight, waving a hand.

"You're fast," the blonde noted as she bookmarked her page and set the book aside.

"And you're still wearing your glasses," Anna shot back with a smirk. She leaned forward, her weight supported by a hand on the table, and plucked the spectacles away from her. She lingered there, silently appraising the older teen's complexion. _Nothing… _A relieved sigh escaped her lips. _Then again, she probably cleaned everything off._ The thought made her feel slightly uneasy.

"I thought chocolate decadence cake would be a nice snack for today… And tea, of course. Please, eat with me," Elsa began as she gestured to the chocolate cake topped with strawberries tracing the circumference and the ornately decorated tea set. When Anna refused to move, she supplied softly, "You were with me the majority of the time. Nothing happened."

Anna studied those sapphires before smiling as she straightened her back and plopped onto her seat. "Well, don't mind if I do," she squealed excitedly, cutting a large slice of cake and pouring tea for Elsa.

"You seem… giddy?" Elsa let out in silent questioning. She took the knife from Anna's hands and cut off an equally thick slice, followed by pouring another cup of tea. She scooted them both to Anna and continued, "Something good happen?"

The redhead considered telling her later, but she would rather delve into one of their banters without having to think about how to approach her with the news afterwards. She tentatively traced the rim of the tea cup of steaming tea, her gaze locked on it.

Elsa's fingers played with one another as she considered changing the topic, but ultimately decided against it when the fire starter finally lifted her head and established eye contact.

"Well, during homeroom…" Anna started but trailed off. "Someone in my class sort of put your name in the ballot."

"Ballot…?" The blonde's features changed to confusion. "Ballot for what?" She knew the answer. Anna had talked to her about it before; the annual contest for Archetypes. She just hoped she guessed wrong.

"The Archetype Contest."

And Elsa's lips tugged downward. "I don't suppose I could drop out of it?"

Anna fiddled with Elsa's glasses she had unwittingly kept in her hand. "Well, I was thinking…"

The elder of the two waited for the last part of the sentence, but only silence followed. "What is it?"

"… Well, you're pretty much settled into Arendelle. I mean, it's already been five days since you transferred. And everyone in Arendelle is required to have at least one club all year long," Anna explained. "It's some sort of custom or another to promote devotion and responsibility. I figured we could use this contest."

"A club…?" Elsa echoed back with a question mark. "What do you mean?"

The fire starter elaborated, hoping the perks she thought to bring up would ease Elsa into her plan more. "You'll need to take tests. They change every year just to be fair. Lots of them will be against other contestants. But, if you can be among the three winners, you'll gain respect." When there was no response from the one across from her, she added, "And being an Archetype has its own benefits. Archetypes, like me, are exempt from the required one club. We don't need to go to meetings and such since we're an all-around member. I only ever really participate when I'm needed, like when clubs are lacking members for a game."

Elsa brushed a strand of gold behind her ear and inquired, "You were going to sign me up for it if this person didn't, am I right? You're trying to stop the bullying..."

The blonde didn't seem angered, or even slightly upset at her meddling. At the realization, a small smile formed on Anna's lips and she replied, "Truthfully? Yes, I was."

The ice maker nodded. She picked up her fork and stabbed a small tip of the cake and brought it up to Anna's lips, asking innocently, "I'll expect you to give me some pointers?"

The redhead opened wide and chomped on the treat, nodding her head in excitement. "Definitely!" she exclaimed once she swallowed. "Mmm~ Chocolate!" She grabbed the fork from her sister and picked up another piece from her own plate. As she brought it to her lips, she noticed Elsa was staring at her. A moment to pause, she asked, "What's up?"

Elsa giggled and pointed to the utensil, saying, "That's my fork."

Maybe it was the downpour that turned into a light drizzle, but Anna could have sworn she heard the blonde say something along the lines of 'how cute'. She didn't dwell on it, too preoccupied with hiding her blushing face.

The moments that followed after consisted of a soothing silence penetrated by rhythmic beating of rain. The sisters ate in peace and contentment.

* * *

"Gah, Mr. Oaken doesn't understand my art!" Anna grumbled, scribbling fractals of flames across her paper. She laid on her stomach, alternating her feet hitting the floor. With a dramatic sigh, she rolled over and faced the ceiling's grand chandelier. "So hard to please..."

Elsa smiled at the redhead as she stole a glance at the paper. She was seated, leaning on the leather sofa behind her. "I don't think the issue is taste in art. Structural class is based off of what you can do with your gift. I believe he expects more creativity from you."

"Well, whatever." Anna put on a crooked grin as she watched the blonde go back to work. For the first time in years, Anna enjoyed the company of someone beside her. The obstinate silence caused by her mother's subsequent absences going late into the night was the very essence of the mansion, and it brought her a feeling of pleasure to know that it, in her mind, had begun to fade as the she did her homework with Elsa. "Hey..." she called softly, poking at the blonde's cheek.

The ice maker hummed in response, her hand doodling away at her own piece of paper.

"I just wanted you to know something," Anna mumbled. She bit her lip and shook her head. With a teasing tone, she commented, "Well, your ice structures don't look all that creative, either."

Elsa arched a brow at her before they both burst into laughter. The long night elapsed subtly, consisting of conversations they both thoroughly enjoyed. Anna reveled in the fact that she could learn more about her sister. And Elsa simply enjoyed the company and teasing.

So, when the grandfather clock struck midnight, they both jolted in shock from the gongs.

"Well, milady~" Anna sing-songed as she elegantly rose and offered her sister an extravagant curtsy before holding out her hand. "Up we go."

Elsa took the offered hand and joined in, "Thank you, my knight in shining armor."

Anna's lips twitched. "Knight? Aren't I supposed to be a prince?"

The blonde thought a moment before replying sheepishly, "Well, you are always beside me and protecting me, kind of like a knight... Besides, if I'm a lady, you shouldn't be a prince to begin with."

The redhead's lips curled upwards. She pulled the ice maker up and, as per their act, escorted her to her room.

"Good night," they both said in unison, wide, sleepy smiles on their faces.

Anna lingered a while longer as her sister's door closed, before she headed to her own room.

Both Anna and Elsa collapsed into bed, cuddled into their pillows, and instantly fell into a dreamless sleep.

**A/N:** Yo, guys! ^^/ First off, thank you all for the reviews~ They're my virtual cookie snacks, so yeah, it made me uber happy. And wow, already 50+ follows and 20+ favorites? You guys are awesome at being vigilant. :D Because of that, I have so many ideas so it's just difficult to choose which ones to put before others and… Hah~ Some of you asked about their home life, so I put some on there, but I'll cover the majority in later chapters. For those of you wondering what that thing was that Elsa so desperately wanted back will have to wait. It plays a role in later chapters, as well. Man, you guys are impatient. XD It's just the first few chapters. I need to set up the story line before I can delve any deeper. Good things come to those who wait~ ;) And, as suggested by Guest anon, expect some characters from other Disney movies to pop up later. Fair warning. o.o So, that said... I _do_ still want my reviews~ ^^a


	4. Step Three: Music and Magic

**Scarlet Summer Snow**

By: Ataralle

**Step Three:** Music and Magic

"Ugh…" she grumbled, shoving her blanket over her head. "Bright…"

The rays filtered through her curtains and it irritated her to no end. She was just not a morning person. She never has been, and most likely never will be. Twisting and turning, she tried to find a comfortable position, but she didn't make much progress before her alarm started blaring.

"Agh!" Her hand shot out from underneath the covers, grabbed her cell phone, and chucked it across the room, where it met her wall with an audible _thump._ Too bad all that did was increase the volume to the max. "Make it stop…" she pleaded into her pillow, her words muffled and much quieter than it would have been.

"Honestly…" her sister mumbled as she grasped the phone and turned off the noise. She looked at the lump in the bed and giggled before walking up to it. "Anna…?"

"Hga, abf-ba-doff-gafer," the redhead said, her voice being swallowed by her pillow and making her speech completely incomprehensible.

"I'm sorry, I don't quite speak 'pillowese' as well as you," the blonde teased, ushering the blanket off her sister. "Good morning, feisty pants."

"Who you calling feisty?" Anna retorted as she rolled over and met Elsa's gaze. "Why are you waking me up at…" She trailed off and looked over to the clock on her dresser and continued, "11:30 on a _Saturday_? School's out so lemme lounge like every other student should." She smirked and added after a moment, "Like _you_ should."

"You're awake and so am I," Elsa said as she opened the redhead's closet. "You made me promise to accompany you to Hans' invitation, remember?"

Anna's brows scrunched together. For the life of her, she could not _remember_ what possessed her to even allow Elsa to consider _going_. "... Yeah, um... When did I propose that, exactly?"

"Yesterday, on the veranda. You so nicely invited me to accompany you where you could give me some advice in preparation for the contest," Elsa told her pointedly, a hand on her hip and a smile playing at her lips. "You said this Hans person is organizing a gathering in school and that would be the ideal place to give me pointers."

Anna pouted. "Gathering... Hans... Invitation… Oh, right! _That_!" She jumped upright as she finally recalled. She lightly thumped her fist downward into her open palm, as if a light bulb flared to life in her mind's eyes. "Well, I didn't want to be there alone with all those people I hardly ever talk to. I'm just naturally awkward," she explained.

"So, you decided to drag me into it so you didn't have to suffer alone," Elsa jokingly piped in.

"Exactly!" Anna agreed with a wide grin. She looked at the clock and frowned. "Elsa~?"

"Hm?" was her sister's half-hearted reply as she swept through the multiple sets of clothing in display. She didn't bother to turn when she heard footsteps behind her. If anything, it meant that Anna had finally relented and will make good on her original plans.

"Gotcha!" Anna announced proudly, hefting the blonde up from behind and eliciting a squeal of shock. She sharply turned and deposited the ice maker on her bed and proceeded to plop in beside her. "Tell me this bed doesn't make you feel sleepy," she demanded, scrutinizing the blonde's expression for the slightest hints of a lie.

Elsa gave her a look and replied, "It doesn't make me feel sleepy." She got up and resumed rummaging through Anna's clothing.

"Ouch," Anna told herself. She pulled her feet into the air and proceeded to swing them back and forth. "Do you even know what you're looking for?" she wondered aloud as she listened to the clattering near her closet.

"What exactly is this gathering _for_, Anna?" Elsa countered. "Is it a party?" One of her hands held a hanger holding a multilayered skirt in place, while the other held skinny jeans.

"Yeah. It's the annual school party to welcome the selected candidates for the Archetype contest," the redhead answered, shifting her head to look at Elsa. "Why?" When her eyes landed on the skirt, she dully stated, "If I'm wearing a skirt, I'm making you wear one, too."

"No wonder you were so adamant about me going..." Elsa considered the proposition and nodded. "Jeans, it is. Dresses and skirts seem too formal, anyhow."

"Sister of mine, you so read my mind~" Anna sang as she jumped off the bed and took the jeans from Elsa. Before she walked out of the room, she stopped mid-stride and looked over her shoulder to the blonde, teasingly offering with a wink. "Want to twin?"

Elsa giggled, answering, "I think we're too old to twin."

"You're no fun!" The redhead huffed with a pout before going about her business.

* * *

"A cap...?" Elsa murmured as she critically eyed Anna's choice of attire.

Anna chuckled, lightly elbowing Elsa in the ribs. "Jelly? Does little Elsy want a cap, too?"

"Jelly...?" the blonde echoed with a disbelieving look, swatting Anna's jabs away. "Little Elsy...?! I'm taller than you, Anna!"

The fire starter smirked and made a gesture towards the hall closet, which she promptly approached. "That's not what these heels say," she retorted with confidence, holding up a pair of crimson heels with intricate straps and tiny clasps in the form of flowers.

The ice maker simply followed her sister's lead and dug for a pair of heels, as well. "As you said, 'that's not what these heels say'." The pair in her hands were indigo with the pattern of snowflakes as straps, a much simpler design compared to Anna's. She slipped them on and once again towered slightly over the redhead.

Anna eyed her sister from head-to-toe and nodded in approval. The blue knitted sweater blended well with the casual look and the heels made it stick out more. "Hang on a sec," she said as she ran back up to her room.

"Anna, don't we have to go now?!" Elsa called from downstairs. She glanced at the watch on her wrist and confirmed that. She opened the entrance of the house and waited until the redhead came bounding down the stairs with heavy footfalls, a black cap in hand.

Once she stood before Elsa, Anna slapped the cap onto her head and looked over her masterpiece. She gave a nod and declared, "Yeah, that'll do just fine."

The ice maker let out a sigh in resignation. "I thought I said we were too old to twin…?"

"Puh-leez," Anna replied, grabbing Elsa's hand and running out the door, slamming it shut in her haste.

When they entered school grounds, Elsa noted how today, despite being a Saturday, was still very crowded with students, albeit students not in uniform.

Anna finally slowed and looped their arms together before leaning into Elsa's shoulder, whispering, "You see that?"

"See what?" Elsa whispered back, to which Anna motioned in a general direction with her head. Once her eyes landed on it, Elsa let out a gasp. "What is that?" she asked in awe.

Near Arendelle Lake, multiple boats absent of oars sat in wait along the shores, a long line of people in uniform starting from the willow tree beside the boat station and winding onwards to the point that Elsa had to wonder if there was even an end. In the waiting students' hands were what seemed to be scarlet papers and miniature candles.

"It's the star boat," Anna supplied. "They hold it twice a year and it lasts for a week. Once to wish the Archetype candidates luck before the contest and the second is when school ends, as a form of farewell. Anyone in that week could participate in it. Though they're only supposed do it once, it's not unheard of to see people come back repetitively."

The blonde was intrigued by it. She realized that Arendelle Academy was a school with interesting customs and activities long before, but this was the first she heard of a school literally taking the time to set up something that every student seemed to joyfully participate in.

"You said 'people', so not just students? How does it work…?" she softly asked.

The redhead answered, "Students, teachers, even outsiders so long as they made an appointment to be on school grounds beforehand. You can do it one of two ways, depending on what you're going for; wishing for something or being grateful for something. It's supposed to go hand in hand. You make a wish first, and then you express your thanks when it's granted."

"Oh? So, if I was, say, _grateful_, how would I go about doing the star boat?" the blonde inquired with genuine interest.

Before Anna could say anything more, she abruptly halted in her tracks and let out a groan of frustration.

"What is it?" Elsa asked, her voice laced with concern.

As if to answer her, a man stepped up and bowed low, his right hand held out to the pair, politely asking, "May I escort you ladies to the building?"

The way he asked was silk and smooth, so when Elsa felt Anna's grip tighten considerably on her arm, all she could do was furrow her brows in confusion.

"Ah, where are my manners?" he chided himself. Standing straight, he introduced himself, "Hans Isles, eighteen, Hibiscus third year. My gift is illusionary. Honor to finally meet the much talked about Elsa Arendelle face-to-face." By the end of it, he grabbed the arm Anna had been holding onto and kissed its hand.

An incredible crimson tint overtook Elsa's pale cheeks and Anna had to wonder if she was going to faint from how red she was getting.

"Hey, I was holding that arm," Anna decided to say, thinking it would be wise to keep the blonde standing upright. When Hans gave her an innocent look, she just went ahead and took hold of Elsa's hand, squeezing it tight. "You're making her nervous."

With that, Hans scratched his sideburn and let out a strained laugh. "I didn't mean to."

"Uh-huh," Anna mumbled out as she chose to walk past him, dragging a dazed blonde behind her. "Save it, Isles."

Once out of hearing range, Anna twirled and faced Elsa. "Be careful around him, okay?"

The ice maker looked perplexed. If nothing else, she thought that the man, Hans Isles, seemed decent enough. "Is there something wrong with him?"

"Yeah, he's a player. Not just that, he's a complete backstabber. He's a contestant, so I can't help but feel like he wants something from you. I bet that's the only reason he's being so nice and chivalrous," Anna hissed bitterly.

Elsa's brows rose. She never expected Anna, as hot-tempered and impulsive as she was, to completely talk about someone so sorely. Anna, to her, was sweet and kind. Selfless, even. So, this reaction was beyond her.

"Understand...? I'm just telling you to be cautious around him. He's probably got an agenda," the redhead continued.

The elder sister mumbled, "You seem to know so much about him... Did you have a fight with him in the past? You're so... set on your opinion, too."

The fire starter grabbed Elsa by the shoulders and shook lightly. "Elsa, I _know_ him. I've _been_ a victim of his backstabbing. Trust me when I say he's scheming something."

All Elsa could manage was a strained nod. She couldn't say more, Anna's smoldering eyes looking so intently at her with a burning sense of righteousness kept her mute from adding anything more on the subject.

Relieved, Anna sighed. "Good." Plastering on her charming smile, she linked arms with her sister again and stated, "Let's get going before we're late."

* * *

Classical piano was being played as the sisters entered, though the grand piano in the corner was empty, so it had to be recorded. Lights of sapphire, emerald, ruby, and topaz filled the room almost as much as the people dressed in various clothing. The decor made it seem like the party was more of a prom, but no one complained.

"Here, sign your name," Anna instructed, placing a piece of paper attached to a clipboard in front of the blonde.

Elsa's eyes trailed through the writing and she concluded it was a list of names of the people who were in the party. "A sign-in sheet...?" She scribbled her name and passed it to Anna, who did the same.

After adjusting the zipper of her hoodie, Anna stuffed her hands into her pockets and guided Elsa to one side of the room near the snacks area. Grabbing two plates, she filled them both up with chocolate treats, and handed one to her sister.

"Thanks," Elsa said as she grabbed a fork from the table. Stabbing a piece, she inquired curiously, "So, exactly what kind of pointers can you give me here?"

Anna scarfed down a couple of chocolate before replying, "Watch the couples around us."

The blonde's features took on a look of perplexity. "Why?" she wondered, though she followed the instruction and looked around, paying close attention to the parties of two. Each pair all seemed to be doing completely different things from one another. She retold her observation to the redhead.

The fire starter popped in another chocolate, finishing her plate completely. With an indulgent moan of contentment, she said, "That's because they all think that something different will take place as a challenge. But, one thing you can never go wrong with is training your eyes. Make them accustomed to the dim lighting like right now. Train them to be able to continuously trail a target from start to finish. Hone them to pick up fast movement at a second's notice... Things like that."

"My eyes are quite adjusted to the dim lighting enough as it is," Elsa stated as she handed her plate to the redhead.

The younger sister squealed in delight as she partook in more chocolate delicacies. "Well, I guess we could work on your trailing abilities."

The ice maker tilted her head curiously. "How?"

Anna threw her an impish grin as she gestured to follow. When they stood before the piano, she guided Elsa to the stool and proceeded to sit beside her. She placed her plate of chocolates to the side and queried silently, "Ready?"

"W-wait, what are you doing?" Elsa stuttered out nervously. "You want me to play?"

Shaking her head, Anna answered, "Sort of, but you'll be following my fingers. It's a fast rendition, so we'll be playing prestissimo that I want you to do one octave lower. That way, it'll sound canon and natural."

The blonde gulped. "Anna..."

With a devilish smirk, the fire starter slammed her fingers onto the keys of the piano, effectively silencing the recording and allowing their own melody to play. Just as she said, the piece was swift, most of the notes being only eighth and sixteenth notes with barely any rests. "And..." Her fingers danced across the black and white keys with ease, consuming the treble notes. Winking expectantly at her sister, she mouthed, "Go!"

Taking her cue, Elsa played the notes to the letter of what she observed Anna do, exactly one octave lower. She stumbled a bit to keep up and watch her sister's fingers, but she managed. The melody that they produced echoed, and it was vibrant. Those in the room stopped and turned to look at the sisters in silent appreciation. The music was genuinely unique in its own way, and they could tell. Even though the majority of them did not even play an instrument and it was just play to the fire starter and the ice maker, it came as instinct to praise the wonderful piece.

With a dramatic swish of her hand, Anna concluded, which Elsa naturally followed. The room was entirely silent in struck awe before they began applauding. The claps lasted for a few moments before Anna decided to stand, offering Elsa a hand. She bowed, tugging Elsa down with her. And with that, the cheers finally died down. Everyone went about what they were doing before becoming enraptured by the musical score.

* * *

Anna let out a hearty laugh as they walked out of the building and into the dark night, arms linked. She asked her sister, "Well, did you catch on to a few things?"

The blonde smiled at her antics. "Yes, I did."

Nodding approvingly, Anna said, "Good, good~" When her teal eyes came across the boats from Arendelle Lake, she halted and turned in that direction. It was already evening, so the majority of the people left were people waiting for the final moment to release their star boats. The line had long since died, and Anna planned to make full use of that.

"Anna?"

"Here," Anna murmured as she handed the blonde paper and a candle. "You said you wanted to show gratitude, right?"

Elsa nodded, eyeing the materials in her hand suspiciously.

"Well, first off. Since you're grateful, you write what you're grateful for. If you were wishing for something, you would write what that wish is."

The ice maker swiftly wrote down her thoughts and looked expectantly to the redhead, who gave her a smile of encouragement.

"Alright. Stars are for wishes and boats are for gratitude. You fold it like this to make a boat," Anna stated as she demonstrated the art of folding paper. Her fingers automatically creased and folded when and where she needed without even looking. Once done, she held the red paper up for the blonde to see.

Elsa was in utter amazement. "Wow," she breathed. She set about copying her sister's movements with a determined look but stopped halfway when she couldn't figure out where the second flap went. She scratched her head in confusion and looked to Anna for an explanation.

_Too cute! _Anna chuckled to herself. She guided Elsa's hands and in no time, she had produced a boat. She allowed Elsa to bask in a job well done, silently thinking to herself how cute the blonde really was. After a moment, she held up the small candle and said, "Now, you light this up, let the wax fall on the boat, and stick the candle on the spot."

Elsa placed her candle in front of Anna, waving it in eagerness.

"What's up?" she asked in confusion.

The blonde smiled sweetly. "Aren't you going to light my candle for me? I don't have a lighter and you're a fire starter, Anna."

The redhead blushed. "Oh..." She hovered a finger over the wick of the candle before it burst into flames.

Elsa quickly took it back, let the dripping wax melt, and stood her candle upright. Once done, she took a glance at Anna and asked excitedly, "And then?"

"We ride the boats," Anna said matter-of-factly as she made her way to the cluster of oar-less boats at the station and jumped in. "Hop on." She held out her hand and pulled the blonde into it.

As the wood they stood on floated adrift, they caught sight of other pairs in boats, holding what looked to be crimson globes and boats with candles. When they floated far enough from the rocky parts of the lake, they saw thousands of lights aligned in disorganized rows and columns. The flames from the candles were reflected off the lake's waters and lit up the entirety of the scene. They were able to make out traces of tree silhouettes and fireflies that came fluttering by with their occasional timid flares.

"Okay, you can place it down on the water," Anna suggested, nudging the blonde with their intertwined hands.

The elder sister went down on one knee, her sister following, and released her paper boat into the congregation of others. When it proved to be able to float, she stood back up with her sister and commented in silent appreciation, "It's really beautiful..."

"Yeah," Anna agreed, nodding. "But, it's not over yet."

Elsa was about to ask what she meant, but the redhead pointed at her boat, and she looked. Her boat, just like the others surrounding it, caught fire as it drifted farther away. By the time it reached the horizon, it completely burned away, leaving smoke patterns trailing up to the sky.

"So..." the fire starter whispered. "What were you grateful for?"

Elsa raised a brow. "Isn't there a rule about not telling this sort of thing?"

"You already wrote it and the 'deities' saw your sincerity. I can hear it now, since they've, as they should, heard it first," Anna explained with a wide smirk. "Well...?" she poked Elsa's cheek expectantly.

The blonde looked left, then right, and then to the wooden floor at their feet, her cheeks a complete crimson. "You..."

"What about me?" Anna's ears perked. "We're talking about your gratitude here, not me. I didn't even send out a star or a boat this time around."

Elsa coughed and repeated quietly, "You..."

The redhead was completely lost. "Elsa, I don't get it."

"I'm saying I'm grateful for _you_!" the ice maker blurted out before she realized what she said, and let out an audible gasp. Her beet red expression took on an even darker shade, bordering on the impossible. She buried her face in her hands and sank to her feet in pure embarrassment.

Anna, for her part, was shocked. She simply froze in her spot as the gears turned and turned in her head. When it finally processed what Elsa said, her face exploded with a crimson hue, and she collapsed to the wood below her in utter shock and embarrassment.

So, there the two sisters were, sitting awkwardly on opposite sides of a boat at night, unable to face one another.

**A/N:** Hey, guys~ So, this chapter was mainly just pointless fluff. Lol. You'll get a lot of it in between the future matches, too. For those of you who are all "Why are they taking so long to fall for each other?!", it's cause _love_ takes time to develop. ;3 Oh, and I realized some of you might not know some music terminology, so here's a miniature dictionary to help you guys out:

-_prestissimo: _extremely quick, or as fast as possible.

_-octave: _interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. 12 semitones equals an octave, so does the first and eighth note in a major or minor scale.

-_canon:_ a theme that is repeated, imitated, and built upon with a time delay, creating a layered effect. I'm pretty sure you need more than one instrument for this, but piano's all I could really include into the story without overdoing it.

_-treble: _bass clef is of lower sound quality, and treble is more of the norm.

Don't forget to review? Please review~! :D I need my virtual snacks~ *pouts*


	5. Step Four: Fear and Trembling

**Scarlet Summer Snow**

By: Ataralle

**Step Four: **Fear and Trembling

Elsa shuddered a bit as her eyes shifted away from the redhead sitting across from her. Uncomfortable did not even begin to describe how she felt. _Oh my god, Anna's going to kill me for sure…_ The thought made her purse her lips in displeasure.

"Are you alright?" the one before her asked, a genuine look of concern plastered on his features. He reached out a hand, to which Elsa's eyes widened at and she flinched away from. He grimaced, lowering his hand back to his lap. "I'm sorry, but did I do something to make you so anxious around me without my knowledge? This is the second day since the lab began, but you haven't even spoken to me. It's rather concerning."

The ice maker bit her lip nervously. Honestly, there was nothing she held against him on a personal level. But, when the only person she felt comfortable around warned her not to get chummy with him, she planned to keep that to heart, especially when the said person was naturally bubbly and kind. Her icy blues eyes met Hans Isle's own and she shook her head slowly.

A charming smile formed on Hans' handsome features in what Elsa assumed was relief. "That's good. I would've been devastated if I made you hate me for some reason." When Elsa just continued to look on at him, he added, "You're beautiful."

Elsa arched a brow skeptically but said nothing, choosing to focus her attention on the assigned paper in her hands. She didn't get very far into reading the instructions before she felt a hand over her own. She looked back up, meeting Hans' eyes only to find a sort of desire burning in them.

"I mean it," he said softly as he leaned in. "You're gorgeous."

The blonde's face contorted. She abruptly stood, her chair falling to the ground with a loud clatter. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she took in the sight of his shocked expression.

"Is anything wrong, Miss Arendelle?" the chemistry teacher inquired as she approached. Taking into account that Elsa seemed uncomfortable around Hans, Ms. Gerda had debated on whether pairing the redhead and the blonde together was really a good idea, but when every other student had apparently made prior arrangements, it just wasn't possible to rearrange them. It was too much trouble. So, in the end, she decided Elsa could withstand a single project with the illusionist.

Elsa merely shook her head, retracting her hand from Hans' touch. "Nothing. Just surprised."

When the teacher left, Hans smiled. "Are you going to sit down anytime soon?"

The ice maker grimaced. "What do you want, Hans?" she asked softly, easing herself slowly back into her seat.

"And so she speaks!" the illusionist announced jokingly with a smile. She never spoke a word to him before ever since the party, so he felt the need to bring that to attention. It was considerable progress, he thought.

Elsa said nothing, clearly not finding anything humorous about it.

Hans returned the scowl she directed at him. "I can't be honest and compliment someone I'm attracted to? I mean, I know your sister and I aren't exactly on the best of terms, but I don't see how that should impede my... goal of having... you..." He had started off confidently, but trialed slowly off into a whisper as the words that just seemed to keep spouting out without his consent. A hint of a blush crept into his cheeks as he fidgeted. "If you'll have me, that is..." he added meekly.

To say she was shocked was an understatement. A huge complication of this proportion was utterly flabbergasting to her. It was her first time being told that to her face, so the sudden flush her face took on was understandable. Though, her brain just couldn't process what was happening. Hans Isles, the dream man with perfect grades and athletic ability just outright told her he wanted to date her. And they only met within the span of three days since the party for Archetype candidates.

"Elsa?" the illusionist tried again, his lips pursing at the thought of rejection.

The image of her redheaded sister entered the blonde's mind and she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't... I'm flattered, but I really can't."

"Is it because of Anna?" Hans retorted with narrowed eyes. He noted the barely noticeable widening of the ice maker's eyes and the way she jolted ever so slightly. It was enough to answer his question. "You shouldn't always believe what Anna tells you, Elsa. We've had our differences, but that shouldn't get in the way of _us_."

_There_ is_ no us._ Elsa couldn't bring herself to say it, but it was the truth. "This isn't really the time to discuss this. Can we just work on our lab? It's due in three days."

Hans let out a defeated sigh and reluctantly agreed. Since the forward approach didn't work, he'll just have to try harder to get her to like him. He beamed with self-confidence. _Cause she _will_ end up liking me for sure._

Elsa slipped gloves on and proceeded to take a test tube from the rack. Holding it up, she put sodium chloride into it with the precise measurement of one gram. Swirling it a bit, she wrote down her observations of the white mineral's current state.

Hans watched the blonde work, a smile plastered on his face. "I want to light the Bunsen burner," he idly stated. _Even though we're not even using it for this experiment..._

The ice maker just nodded in reply, not really giving it much thought as she set the tube aside and began using an eye dropper to capture some acetic acid from the container set in the middle of the classroom for the students.

Hans grimaced. He was expecting a response, even a small disapproving lecture would have sufficed. "I'm a two hundred kilogram rainbow unicorn named Gertrude with a mission to save Christmas in the middle of June," Hans piped in, sounding completely serious.

The blonde nodded again as she continued the experiment, slowly placing the acetic acid into the test tube drop by drop. And then, what he said hit her. A small smile formed on her lips.

"And she smiles!" the illusionist eagerly exclaimed. "What a day~"

"How can I not at something so ridiculous?" Elsa shot back, stifling a grin.

Hans beamed. "I love your smile."

_This isn't good._ And it really wasn't. Anna had warned her to stay away from Hans. She had every intention of doing so. But, it was unavoidable to associate with him when they're partners for this lab. Hans was making this a lot more difficult, especially with his friendly personality. _Maybe Anna and Hans just had a misunderstanding? Hans reminds me of how funny Anna is, they had to have gotten along..._

Those thoughts consumed her as she continued with the experiment, recording data as she observed her lab and the reactions. Hans conversed with her as he set up the reaction equations for each compound, sharing multiple laughs with her. The class went by swiftly just like that, and Elsa found herself slightly disappointed at the bell's toll.

"That was fun, Elsa. Who knew boring chemistry class could be so... _engaging_?" Hans joked as he stood and grabbed his bag. "See you in Gift class." He left with a playful wink and a warm smile.

Elsa waved. "Yeah, see you in approximately two minutes," she quipped and returned the smile.

"Have a good day, Elsa, and good luck tomorrow," Ms. Gerda said as her student left and another teacher walked in.

"You, too, and thanks, Ms. Gerda," the ice maker replied, beaming. "Excuse me, Mr. Kai," she said to the teacher she almost bumped into.

* * *

After the bell rang for third period Gift handling class and Mr. Kai was still nowhere to be seen, Anna was going to make use of the opportunity to find Elsa and chat with her a bit, but Rapunzel, the teen with the power of hair and dubbed the tangler, had caught her before she could. She began to go off into a rant about Flynn Rider and now Anna was stuck with her friend gushing over her crush, but she smiled, regardless, at seeing the tangler's range of expressions. They were all filled with joy, even when she frowned at random parts during her retelling of a story.

"Anna, you have to understand, Eugene is _amazing_!" her friend squealed in excitement. "He can never be late for classes with his gift, you know?"

The redhead laughed, "You're just biased since he helped you out when _you_ were running late."

"On the contrary, dear Arendelle friend of mine, I'm _honest_," Rapunzel supplied with a wide grin. "There's a clear difference. And you would be, too, if you were late for _Oaken's_ class."

Anna smirked and nodded. "Point taken."

The blonde's grin twitched ever so slightly when her eyes landed on a figure behind the redhead and she tried to keep it straight, but she just couldn't. _Oh my_ god,_ what is she_ doing_...? Anna's going to go ballistic!_

"Punzel?" Anna tilted her head at the sudden turn in mood. Watching the expression of glee fall into one of concern so quickly, she couldn't help but follow suit. "What is it?"

Rapunzel grabbed the fire starter and whispered, "Whatever you do, _don't_ turn around." She was well aware of the ever-present tension between her friend and Hans. She knew this was not something Anna would or could ignore, so she hoped that for once, the redhead would heed her warning.

Anna's face scrunched in bafflement. "What do you mean?" Like everyone else, she naturally turned around out of curiosity.

"Anna!" the tangler warned in an urgent whisper.

But, it was too late. She saw what it was that made Rapunzel falter in her joyful moment. And she didn't like what she saw at all. Her face clearly showed that, having contorted into a dour expression.

Before she could stomp her way over to her older sister and Hans Isles' conversation, Mr. Kai barged in, panting heavily. "Phew, sorry class. I had a run-in with Ms. Gerda, and I just—" He stopped mid-sentence, having realized that what he was saying was beyond embarrassing. "Anyhow, return to your seats. Gift class will now begin."

There were some giggles running rampant in the room as everyone sat in their assigned seats, and Anna would have snickered the loudest of all had it not been for her sour mood. After all, everyone knew Ms. Gerda and Mr. Kai had a thing going, and it was cute in its own way. Couples in the school were talked about nonstop, seeing as it was always the hottest gossip around.

_Wait, it's the hottest gossip around..._ At the thought, Anna turned her head in multiple directions, seeing if she could find anyone who she knew could answer anything and everything about the couples in school. When her eyes landed on Snow White, the queen of all talk and silver tongue of the school, she quickly scribbled a note and tossed it to the ebony haired student, who was seated exactly three seats to the right of her. She watched as the pale teen gave her a look but opened it, anyway.

Snow's expression changed from perplexity to one of amusement as she read the short missive that said, _Yo, silver tongue. Has any of your animals told you anything about Elsa Arendelle and Hans Isles? -Fire starter._ She wrote her response down and tossed it back to Anna.

Eager and slightly nervous to know, the redhead immediately unfolded the scrap and read, _Elsa and Hans? There haven't been anything solid, but they were getting chummy since yesterday, apparently. Especially during their chemistry class together. I wouldn't be surprised if they were really an item. My birds tell me that Hans has the hots for the ice maker and everyone knows it, too._ Her guts roiled and she bit her lip. Giving a silent nod of appreciation to the queen of gossip, she turned her attention to her sister seated at the other side of the room from her.

"Elsa..." she mumbled. She couldn't understand why she felt so hurt and anxious over the realization that Elsa might be with Hans now. It was just her protective streak, right? She didn't want Elsa to go through the pain she did because of Hans. _Or maybe it's cause you're jealous_, her conscience told her, causing her to sweat at the thought.

"Arendelle, Anna," Mr. Kai called again, holding the attendance sheet in hand. That was the third time he had called, but she still seemed to be zoned out.

"Psst, Anna." Her classmate nudged her on the elbow. "Roll call."

Anna's eyes widened slightly. "Here!" she finally answered.

"Arendelle, Elsa," Mr. Kai continued, shaking his head a bit as his lips curled upwards in amusement. _She never did do well in roll calls, that Anna..._

"Present!" Elsa replied, raising her hand.

Anna let her eyes drift to her sister again. _Why do I feel like this...? _She asked herself that as the unsettling feeling of... _something..._ made itself known in her very being. She was confused. She was upset. And, she was angry. To complicate things further, all of that revolved around her new sister.

* * *

"Elsa!" Anna called, waving to her sister for attention when class finally ended.

The ice maker looked to the source and a smile graced her lips. She always felt happiness bubble in her when she saw her sister. Maybe it was the way she felt safe around her. But, she knew for a fact that she loved being around the exuberant fire starter.

"Anna," Elsa returned, a look of glee adorning her countenance. "What is it?"

"We need to talk." Anna had said that with finality. It was clear she was not taking an answer other than 'yes'.

Elsa didn't like the sound of worry laced in the redhead's tone. "There's something wrong." It wasn't a question; it was a statement of fact.

Anna shuddered a bit. From what, Elsa didn't know. But the usual warm eyes of the fire starter was taking on a shade to match the raging storm inside her. The redhead hesitated to address the issue, but a flash of short crimson mane approaching them made her hiss. She quickly took hold of Elsa by the wrist and bolted off, her sister following behind in slight shock.

At the nearest corner, Anna turned and continued until she found an uncrowded area. She stopped and whipped around to face Elsa. Her eyes were narrowed, fists on her sides, trembling, and clearly furious about something.

"Anna...?" the blonde began, keeping her voice hushed.

"I want to know what you think you're doing," Anna finally said, a loud exhale falling from her lips in frustration. It was clear she was trying her best not to burst into a rage. _You shouldn't be angry at her, Anna..._ She felt bad for putting Elsa on the spot, but not knowing just made her so... She couldn't even find the word to describe her emotion at the moment. But, she knew she only had negative feelings toward the situation.

"What are you talking about?" Elsa asked, confused.

"Don't play dumb with me, Elsa," the redhead retorted impatiently, arms across her chest and foot tapping on the floor.

The ice maker fell silent. Did she do something? If she did, she couldn't remember. What was Anna talking about?

When her sister failed to answer, Anna demanded, "Answer me."

"I-I'm sorry, Anna. I really don't know what you're talking about," Elsa finally revealed.

Anna took hold of both of Elsa's hands and stepped closer.

Elsa, slightly taken aback from the iron grip on her, recoiled a step back in uncertainty.

"I told you stay away from him, Elsa." The strain in her voice made it crack ever so slightly. She kept stepping forward, to which Elsa retreated in sync, until Elsa found herself trapped between her enraged sister and the lockers, locks painfully digging into her back as she continued to try and pull herself away. "In just a couple of days after warning you, I hear rumors of you and him together."

Startled by what she was saying, Elsa paused her movements and looked squarely at Anna.

"I get that you might be attracted to him. I was, too, at some point, but to _date_ him even after I warned you not to get close is just hor—"

"—Wait, wait! Anna, I'm not dating Hans!" Elsa interjected, standing to her full height for emphasis.

The younger sister faltered at the exclamation and she paused in the middle of her tirade.

"I have no interest in him whatsoever..." Elsa added, maintaining direct eye contact with Anna.

All the energy inside Anna seemed to immediately dissipate at the news as she slumped forward a little. "You what...?"

"I have no interest in Hans Isles, nor am I dating him," Elsa reiterated, saying it with exaggerated slowness.

"Y-you're not...?"

Elsa nodded. "I'm not."

The morbid feeling she had since earlier was immediately replaced by heartbreaking _relief._ Anna had to question why she felt so strongly about this; it couldn't have just been petty jealousy, she'd been through that before but never like this. _Well, I_ do_ love Elsa, so I guess it isn't exactly outside the realm of possibility... _Her thoughts trailed off, leaving her sentence trailing on the last word. _I love Elsa..._ She told herself that, repeating it in sudden realization. _Oh, no. You can't be serious..._

"I'm sorry, Anna. I care about your opinion, I do," Elsa mumbled, looking anywhere but at Anna's glowering features. "I appreciate that you care for me, too."

Her words caused Anna to feel shame. She drove her sister into a corner out of jealousy but she was the one apologizing to her? At the very least, she owed her an explanation._ Way to act like a complete douche to her, Anna._ Very_ mature._

"Anna, please say something..." The ice maker looked terrified. She hated the thought of upsetting her sister, after all. A frown wasn't supposed to be on Anna's face. She looked much better with a her signature charming smile, in Elsa's opinion.

"I love you," Anna told her, looking straight into her azure eyes. That was her explanation; she knew it would suffice and tell Elsa everything all at once... except maybe the most important part, anyway.

Elsa sucked in a breath, having expected something else completely. She let her lips turn into a smile and she replied fondly, "I love you, too."

Anna smirked, feeling just a bit bitter. _Yeah, I thought so... But my love __is apparently a different kind of __love than yours is._

* * *

By the end of the day, Anna was having so much difficulty, she swore it was just detrimental to her health.

"Anna, let's go," Elsa said, holding out her hand to her sister as they always did after school. Walking hand-in-hand became a habit for them, both relishing the other's presence.

_Oh my god... _Anna gulped. She didn't know if she should take that hand. All day since her epiphany, all she could do when she looked at Elsa was ogle. She acknowledged Elsa was beyond gorgeous before and she had made a show of teasingly checking out her sister on multiple occasions in the past, but this was overwhelming. She was seriously ravishing the ice maker with her eyes, and she couldn't bring herself to keep that up.

When the redhead made no move to latch onto her hand, Elsa decided to latch onto hers, instead, and began walking the route home. "So, how are you?" she asked, keeping her voice quiet. "You seem worried."

Anna licked her lips. "I'm alright..." she replied blandly. _Aside from finding out I have an attraction to you, just absolutely chipper._

Elsa tightened her grip on Anna just a tad bit, but it was enough to make the redhead look at the blonde.

"Attraction?" the ice maker echoed, confused.

_Oh, shit. I said that out loud!_ Anna brought her hands up to slap over her mouth, wide-eyed. Elsa was looking at her expectantly, and she tried to gather her wits to form some sort of believable clarification. She waved both her hands before her frantically, words spewing out of her mouth before she could even pause to think over what she was actually saying, "Y-yeah, Snow White and I were passing notes around and it somehow ended up being about you. I thought about how beautiful you are and I wouldn't be shocked if everyone grew an attraction to you. I mean, I know _I_ did—wait, what?" Red bloomed on her cheeks as she buried her face into her hands.

"You're attractive, too," Elsa replied, tilting her head as she watched Anna's reactions curiously. She wore a smile, thinking Anna was just absolutely adorable when she rambled.

At the words, the redhead exhaled a deep sigh in relief and regained a semblance of dignity. _Oh, lucky..._

"So, guess what?" the elder sister began excitedly, nudging the redhead to keep walking with her.

"Hm?" The fire starter kept her eyes forward as she hummed, grateful for the change in topic.

"Mr. Oaken said I did a great job on designing my weapon in Structural class." Elsa's voice was oozing with pride, and Anna could hear it in its entirety.

"No way, I decided to go with chakrams of fire!" Anna huffed, pouting at Elsa. Inside, she was glad she could still maintain a decent and normal conversation with her. "You're such an overachiever. I told you the first round starting tomorrow for the Archetype contest is nothing to stress about. A plain one would have been just fine as the required weapon of your choosing."

Elsa giggled. "I'm not stressing. Besides, what grade did you get for that chakram design?"

The fire starter shrugged. "A B..."

"A for my sword, sister of mine," Elsa returned with a broad smile, to which Anna poked her for on the shoulder. "Those designs you bashed a few days ago? You were right, of course. I knew it wasn't nearly as good as it could be, so I decided to redraw it completely. Meet my new sword." She pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to her sister.

"Wow, that is such an improvement from last week," Anna complimented the pattern on the paper with appreciation, making it a point to keep her eyes locked firmly there. "Now, can you actually make it?"

Elsa grinned. "There's no point in designing something if I can't even make it. By the way, her name is Frozen." Holding out her hand, she willed her ice powers to manifest in the form of the sword she saw in her mind's eye. Intricate snowflakes of varying forms and sizes laced and scattered about the blade of ice, the toe sharp and deadly. The guard of the sabre was created with elaborate twists and twirls, leading to the end of the grip wrapped in icy cloth that formed into two separately long tassels.

"Her name? You named it?" The thought made Anna laugh. It was cute, in her opinion. She looked at the sabre, the creator's eyes reflected in its decorative blade. A look of aspiration and awe was what she saw in those blue eyes, and the statement of fact slipped out of her lips before she could stop it, "Beautiful..."

Elsa looked up from marveling at her creation and grinned. "Thank you. Frozen appreciates that," she teasingly stated.

_Really, why are you such a goddess...?_ Anna shook her head quickly and returned her attention to where she was walking.

The blonde, noting how quiet Anna had become, decided her sister just wasn't in the mood to talk today and dispelled her sabre. She didn't know why she was acting that way, but given the fire starter was making no move to tell her anything of the matter, she just kept on walking silently. _She'll tell me when she's ready, I hope..._

When they made it back home, Anna leapt up the stairs in large strides, never taking a look back. Once she made it into her room, she rushed in and slammed the door tightly shut behind her.

Elsa was left at the foyer, looking at her sister's form as she disappeared from view in the span of two seconds. "No veranda...?" she asked aloud, feeling a bit disappointed. She followed after her sister slowly and grabbed onto the knob of Anna's door, giving it a small turn to the right, then left, but it refused to move any farther from its current position. Locked...

That was new. Elsa and her sister had the mutual understanding that locked doors would never do between them. Even knocking seemed overrated for them, so they just entered when they felt like it. So, the fact that the wooden door refused to open meant something serious.

"Elsa..." Anna's voice flitted across the thick door.

"Yes?" the blonde answered in a barely audible voice.

"What would you do...?"

Elsa's brows rose. "What do you mean? What would I do in what?"

"... Not_ in what_... What would you do if... if someone _confessed_ to you?" Anna asked timidly. Her already hoarse voice became even harder to make out from how quiet the words were.

"Confessed?"

The way Elsa didn't say anything afterwards caused Anna's breath to catch in apprehension. "Yeah. Confessed they were in love with you?"

Elsa stood silent like a statue. She didn't know how to respond to that. "Um... That's rather sudden."

Anna waited for a response, regardless, as she slid down to the floor in anticipation. She brought her legs to her chest and hugged them, utterly at a loss.

"Anna, I don't know." She paused. "I guess it depends on who it is?"

"Someone you met just a few weeks ago?" Anna softly asked.

"Sounds more like an infatuation," Elsa replied. "But, I suppose it's possible."

The redhead bit her lip. Now came the real questions. "What if it was a girl? Do you think it would be weird?" She swallowed a lump that formed in her throat. She knew she was probably stretching it, but she had to know. "W-would you _hate_ her for it?"

Blue eyes widened at the question. What was her sister getting at? Questions, one after the other, popped into her head, but she needed to answer Anna somehow and couldn't dwell on them. She replied with her honest opinion, "Well, I wouldn't particularly have anything against it...? I mean, yes, I think it's strange, but... I don't think you can help who you fall for. So, I can't hate someone because of that."

The sincerity in that response made Anna smile. _Typical Elsa_, she thought affectionately. "Mm..."

And then, deafening quiet.

Elsa fidgeted uncomfortably. She couldn't figure out why Anna would ask her opinion in something as random as lesbianism, but she knew pressing the issue would do nothing for them. Taking a deep breath, she inquired, "I take it no veranda today?"

Anna could hear the traces of gloom in her sister's voice but she couldn't risk being alone with Elsa any more than she already had. Granted, she had confirmed her situation wasn't as dire as she thought it was. If anything, she had a chance. And that provided so much comfort, but the fact remained that Elsa was her sister and she had no idea how to go about acting around her anymore.

"Anna..." Elsa whined.

Anna chuckled softly, throwing her head up from her knees in delight. She could just picture the blonde pouting in that cute way of hers. But, she still couldn't get out. What if something happened because of her? She, quite frankly, enjoyed Elsa's company tremendously. But, considering the fact that she was practically peeling off Elsa's clothes when she saw her earlier, she _really_ didn't want to risk it.

"Please, Anna?" the blonde tried again.

"I-I'm kind of sleepy," the fire starter hastily lied. "I'm sorry."

Elsa drew her bottom lip in and nibbled anxiously. Something was obviously wrong with her sister. "Alright... Goodnight..." She finally acquiesced and made her way to her room when the last word was returned to her from the other side of the door. She didn't bother to hide the way her feet trudged and dragged across the ornate floors in disappointment. _Maybe sleep is what we both need. Today has been a long day._

* * *

She blinked. Everything was so bright through her hazy vision. Had Anna decided to have a midnight snack and forgot to close the lights? _Why so bright...?_ She couldn't remember the house lights being so strong.

She tried to get up. She tried to stretch. But her body just refused to cooperate. Her hands wouldn't move, and she could hardly even get her breathing done right.

Shaking her head, she attempted to blink out the sleep in her eyes. Blinking once, twice, before her vision finally began to clear and focus, she caught sight of auburn hair splayed about on her sheets.

"Anna...?" she asked, unsure. Where was her head, first of all? All she saw was her sister's messy long locks of red. She groaned, feeling heaviness shift on her chest. _When did she come in?_

A murmured response of how bright it was reached Elsa's ears, prompting the blonde to look down at her breasts, where her sister had decided to snuggle her head in.

"How cute..." Elsa mumbled with a sleepy smile. "But heavy."

"You're heavier," Anna retorted drowsily, her arm tightening around the blonde's waist and back, effectively trapping Elsa's arms between them. Her legs were tangled with her sister's, while her other arm had snaked up to the blonde's silky tresses. "But soft..."

"Don't we make such a nice pair, then?" Elsa quipped with a teasing grin. When all Anna did was tighten her grip on her, she let out a moan. "Anna, too tight."

"Hm... What time is it, Elsa?" Anna grumbled out, burying her face deeper into the blonde's bosom. _I feel kind of bad for using my sister status to do this, but..._ She just couldn't help herself. Last night, she crawled into Elsa's bed since she missed her usual chats with her on the veranda and couldn't fall asleep on her own. All she could manage was twist and turn until it was one in the morning. Funny the moment she plopped into Elsa's bed and snuggled in, she felt sleep overcome her in an instant.

To Elsa, this was a completely different side of Anna. They never slept together, so she supposed this must be the reason why Anna had plainly stated she didn't want to before. _Such an adorable side to the hot-tempered Anna, and it's when she's too sleepy,_ she squealed in her head. "You're a complete cuddle bug," Elsa settled on whispering, turning her head to the side to find her alarm clock. It read... "Ah! It's 8:21!" she screamed, bolting upright. No wonder the lights were so bright, it was the _sun_!

Anna jolted, her grip on Elsa immediately disappearing. "_What_?!"

"Get up!" the ice maker yelled, dragging her sister to her closet. "Get dressed! We're late!"

The redhead's lips were slanted downward as she made her way back to the bed to observe how her sister ran to-and-fro across the room, clothes being tossed in multiple directions as she paced around and grabbed materials from her table, drawer, and closet. The way the blonde stumbled from time to time, or the way her mess of golden locks followed her everywhere was amusing to watch, to say the least. Watching her dress... It really was underhanded of her, in her opinion, but she found it adorable to watch her sister act like a cute dork. _Adorkable!_ She snickered.

"Anna, don't just stand there!" Elsa grudgingly exclaimed. "We're late, and you're just going to sit there? What happened to being strict on punctuality?"

"Elsa, do you know what today is?" Anna retorted nonchalantly as she brushed her fingers through her crimson locks.

Elsa halted all her movements. She furrowed her brows in thought. "The first round of the contest!" The realization drained her energy so quickly that she crumpled to the floor with a deep sigh.

"Which means we're not late since school is cancelled for the contest. The introductory starts at 9:30, and the first match starts at 10:00," Anna elaborated, smirking at the embarrassed look the ice maker shifted into. "That was quite the spectacle."

"Jerk," Elsa muttered as she got up and proceeded to get dressed, completely unaware of the teal eyes trailing all across her smooth skin in admiration.

Anna bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. She thought she was just too shocked with her discovery yesterday that her initial response was an overdrive with her hormones. After all, in her room, she calmed down enough and felt confident that she wouldn't do anything completely un-sisterly. Hence, why she even went to sleep with Elsa. But looking at Elsa now, she knew it wasn't just that. Raging hormones were there, sure, but now she knew for sure. She was attracted to Elsa's natural allure. As if looks weren't already in her favor, her personality always warmed her heart.

_Oh my god, I have it bad..._ Anna cried internally. _Why are you_ so..._ Ugh!_

"Anna?" the ice maker tried again, waving a hand before her sister's eyes. That was the third time she called her but Anna was clearly off in la-la land. She seemed to be doing that a lot recently, Elsa observed. "Anna, if you don't answer, I'll seriously consider making a blizzard right here and now."

"Elsa, I love you," Anna said.

Elsa smiled. "Yeah, I love you, too. Now, go get dressed." She ushered the redhead out of her room and guided her into her own bedroom closet. "I'll make lunch while you do," she stated as she turned and left, heading downstairs into the kitchen.

The fire starter sighed, not knowing how exactly she expected Elsa to respond to something like that. She grumbled but decided it was probably better that way for now, anyway. The last thing she wanted was to distract Elsa from the contest. They were doing all this work so the blonde could win and gain respect, after all. Bullying would never be a problem for her again. No one would mess with her and Anna would feel just that much more reassured. That, in Anna's mind, was the real goal to aim for.

By the time it was 9:25, the sisters made it to the stadium up the large hill behind the educational building and the dorms. That part of the school was always off limits, so students made full use of the Archetype contest, one of the only things that allowed the gates to the stadium open for everyone. Naturally, the majority of the seats were already occupied by the students and teachers alike who came to watch. The stadium itself was nicely decorated with balloons and banners of random contestants with one another.

Anna panted puffs of air as she hunched over, desperately trying to oxygenate her deprived lungs. "Oh my god, I'd forgotten how much I hate those long stairs," she gasped.

Elsa giggled, patting Anna's head in comfort. "It wasn't that bad," she stated with a shrug.

"Not that bad?! Do you _hear_ yourself?! That was like, what?! Fucking five three hundred step staircases!" the fire starter exclaimed indignantly, throwing her arms up in defeat.

"Alright, contestants. We are now going to start the introductions and this round's randomly selected match-ups!" Mr. Weselton stood above the prearranged podium in front of the stadium, his voice echoing due to the bullhorn in his hand. "When I say your name, please come up and meet your opponent! Today, you will all be made to choose a weapon of your choice and stick with it for the match. Use that specific weapon and defeat your opponent! The one who is victorious in each match will move on to round two next week! We'll start off with the first match and work our way down! Contestants who are not competing will be seated within the audience and watch the contest, as well!" He let the rules sink into everyone's heads before asking, "Any questions?"

The crowd the sisters were in became silent, all nervous to know who would compete with whom today and who out of each match would emerge victorious from them.

"The first match is between Snow White, the silver tongue, and Ariel Triton, the water player!" the white haired teacher announced, his arm shooting up in a dramatic show of intensity.

The crowd roared.

Elsa jerked, caught in the center of the noise. She had to wonder if it was necessary to make so much commotion as she watched a long red haired student walk onto the platform beside Mr. Weselton, followed by an ebony haired girl with pale features. She tapped Anna on the shoulder and asked quietly, "What's a silver tongue and a water player?"

Anna smirked. "Snow has the power to talk to animals. Communicating with anyone in any language, that's her power. Ariel, on the other hand, is kind of like you. She controls water, not ice, though. Talk about a strange match-up."

"The second will be between Hans Isles, the illusionist, and Eugene Fitzherbert, the shadow weaver!" the teacher continued dramatically.

Before Elsa could ask, Anna stated dully, "Illusionist. Hans can make you see things that aren't there. He's like the master of making people schizophrenic. And Eugene? As far as I know, he can teleport through shadows. I'm pretty sure he could manipulate them, too, but I never really saw him in action before, so..."

The blonde nodded, her eyes falling on the figure of Hans as he stepped to the podium, followed closely by a male student with smooth light brown hair. She continued to listen to the line-up for each set match, her sister explaining what powers each candidate had, but became increasingly anxious when neither she nor Anna were called._  
_

"Lastly, Elsa Arendelle, the ice maker, and Anna Arendelle, the fire starter!" the white haired man finished the list.

At the pairing, there was a short tense silence before everyone boomed in anticipation from the audience area, as well as the podium. Everyone knew, with the rumors circulating about how strong the transfer student was and the common knowledge that Anna was the best there is in school, that this was the best result for them. It would be entertaining, and the excitement was literally palpable. Only three people grimaced, displeased at the news. One was the redheaded illusionist on the podium and the other two were standing beside one another as sisters.

"Well, _fuck_," Anna grumbled. She knew it was possible to be matched with Elsa, but to think it was on the first round, this just wasn't her week.

Elsa shook her head in disbelief. "Great..."

**A/N:** Dun, dun, dun! Haha. Phew, another chapter done~ Longer than any of the others. Wow... Sorry for the wait, guys. Hopefully the length of this chapter made up for it. My muse for this story has been dying since my source of motivation is really lacking. And life, in general, is just a big, fat hassle. :/ What with prom, graduation, AP exams, college preparations, events, trips, family, etc. Anyhow, I've changed this story to rated M cause starting now, swearing and sexual content will worm its way into the story. Wow, this is developing rather quickly, huh? Can you feel the love tonight~? Lol. Oh, and there have been a lot of you asking where the Arendelle parents are. Let's just say there's a reason _why_ they haven't made an appearance yet, and it's a pretty big deal. It's for future chapters; I guess you can look forward to the complications in said future. Lol. XD From how the story is progressing, it won't take much longer, I'd say. That said, can I have more of my source of motivation? And, if you haven't figured it out, yes, I'm referring to reviews. :D Pretty please~? :3


	6. Step Five: Wins and Losses

**Scarlet Summer Snow**

By: Ataralle

**Step Five: **Wins and Losses

"There's no choice. You have to take me down," Anna muttered, keeping her eyes on the redheaded water player and the ebony haired silver tongue. She wasn't really watching and absorbing, just looking. How could she actually pay attention to the fight when her mind was clearly elsewhere? She had a major predicament on her hands that needed an immediate solution.

Elsa allowed the immense displeasure she felt to show on her features. "Anna, I refuse to just take away your position. You've had it for two years, haven't you? It's your rightful place." She was also drowning out her surroundings, merely looking past the two candidates. She focused her full attention on her sister and the hand that gripped her own with fervor.

The redhead was flattered her sister cared. Truly, she was. But, they had an actual agenda for the contest. She could not allow Elsa to falter when the matches had just begun. She growled, "Elsa, the reason I enrolled you in this was because becoming an Archetype will abolish the bullying! Everything I did to prepare you will be for nothing if you don't win."

"But, Anna—" Elsa started, only to be interrupted by the roar of the crowd around them. She furrowed her brows, drawing her attention towards the stadium, as did her sister. The feel of Anna's warm hand leaving her own did not escape her notice.

Snow and Ariel had both lost their weapons early in the match. One was swept away by birds, and the other was currently being encased in layers of water. Now, the two just went ahead and were using their gifts. There was no specific rule against doing so, since they stated, "use that specific weapon _and_ defeat your opponent", not "use that specific weapon _to _defeat your opponent". Mr. Weselton, the acting referee, made no qualms about it when they began using their powers.

Ariel planted her foot firmly on the ground as she placed three more round barriers up, her walls of encompassing water making an effective stopping device between her and the silver tongue's mass army of avian creatures littered across the sky. Willing the power in her to amass, she waved her arms to the grey clouds she thanked the gods for. Had they not been there, she knew the finishing blow she planned would never work. She was skilled, but she was hardly as powerful as the silver tongue. But, maybe if she made use of the pinch of good grace Mother Nature gave her today, she could actually win.

Chirps from the birds Snow summoned warned her of the rapid change in air pressure. Granted, she couldn't see what Ariel was doing behind the barricades she put up, but she had an inkling if the sudden flash of lightning was any indication. She wasn't expecting the water player to literally play with the weather. She had to think fast. If it started to rain, the downpour would be her undoing.

_Plip! Plip! Plip!_

Snow grimaced as she felt the first signs of the coming storm. Her silver tongue ability couldn't exactly just poof animals on the spot when she willed it. She had to call them into her battles. Now, she was fighting against a water player. No animals nearby were made specifically to withstand rainstorms. The only close animals made for water all stemmed from Arendelle Lake, which was Ariel's source of water till now, but it wasn't like she could bring the animals that would suffocate on land to her like Ariel did for the water. Now, she was stuck in the middle of a battle with no means of defense against the inevitable blast of water to come.

_Sssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh!_

Ariel grinned as the droplets transformed into rain, pelting down strongly onto the stadium. Thunder boomed and reverberated, followed by strikes of lightning and powerful gusts of wind. Mother Nature truly was on her side today, she cheered.

The silver tongue was at a loss as the hard shower drenched her in mere seconds. _Think, Snow! What do I do?! What_ can_ I do?! It's not like fish can fly from lakes! Wait... Fly...? That's right, fly! Arendelle Lake has some flying fish! But, they can only fly so high. This hill is the highest structure within a ten mile radius... _It was practically hopeless. But, what did she have to lose? Taking in a deep breath, she let out a subdued cry that traveled far. She shut her eyes; the only thing left to do was pray for a miracle.

The entire stadium was quickly flooding. Just a bit more and the water player would be able to create the massive, inescapable wave she needed. She readied herself with a grin, standing firm in the traditional form she was taught when she first learned to control her abilities.

The audience on each level pulled out umbrellas and placed their feet on the railings before them, unperturbed. Crazier things have happened in the past contests, so they knew to be prepared. A little rain was beyond manageable. They continued to watch, cheering for their own individual favored candidates.

Anna's eyes trailed off to Elsa, who had built a sort of shading shelter for both of them from the rain with her ice. She let her gaze linger, wondering what she should do next. The last thing she wanted was to have a fight with her sister, but she wanted to make sure the blonde would be safe. She _needed_ the reassurance that Elsa would not become a target any longer. _I_ could_ just forfeit..._ She had a feeling Elsa would never talk to her again if she did that, though. What else could she do aside from lose on purpose?

Elsa gripped her uniform skirt in both hands. She didn't want to win if Anna would be made to lose as a side-effect. After how much the redhead has helped her, she just wouldn't feel right if she won.

Another roar from the crowd jolted them out of their reverie. Their eyes simultaneously flashed to the ongoing skirmish.

Ariel grunted as she waved for the waters to gather into a wave, reaching so high that every spectator had to tilt their head up to see where the end was. Stomping her foot down and securing her balance, she took measured and intricate steps forward. With a swift swipe of her arms, the mass of water behind her lurched forward.

Snow gritted her teeth as the water crashed into her and sent her flying. She found herself being dragged and pulled underwater by the sheer power of the blow, struggling to keep herself afloat.

The water player's eyes narrowed as she watched the silver tongue bob fruitlessly against her assault. She heard the sound of air being sliced from behind her, and out of reflex, turned to ascertain it wasn't an enemy. The next thing she knew, everything was turning black as a package of scales crashed into her face with great force, sending her reeling into the waters. The flying fish that hit her square in the face plopped into the water after her, its pectoral fins spread outright.

The ebony haired student smirked before she, too, lost consciousness.

The storm ceased. The crowd was in awe, awaiting Mr. Weselton's decree of the match.

The teacher looked at the two contestants, both being hauled out of the waters by Mr. Kai and Mr. Oaken, before both teachers disappeared from view to take the two contestants to the infirmary. Both had fainted during the match. And as far as he could tell, they both lost when the other attacked. He cleared his throat and announced his conclusion, "Because both lost the will to continue from each other's attacks, they have both lost. The first match has no winner!"

The audience was stunned. That rarely happened, and when it did, it wasn't really the conclusion any of them wanted. Both Snow White and Ariel Triton were skilled with their gifts. It was saddening to know none of them made it into the second round like they deserved.

"The second match is between Hans Isles and Eugene Fitzherbert!" Mr. Weselton continued. "That is, of course, after the stadium has been cleared of all the water. We will be taking a ten minute break to do so." As if to emphasize his point, he lifted his drenched foot. The flood passed his knees, and it needed to be out of the way if the next match was going to start.

The spectators stood and made for the exits. They needed to change their clothes completely if they were going to stay and watch the rest of the round, seeing as how the recoil of the wave crashing down had hit them all and gotten them thoroughly soaked.

Elsa and Anna sat still, eyes forward as they listened to the crowd's murmurs die down.

"Elsa," the younger of the two mumbled, though she made no move to look at her sister. She planned to make this exchange strictly formal and to the point.

The ice maker remained silent as she fidgeted in her seat.

The redhead took that as a sign to continue. "You will win." There was no room for arguments with the tone she used.

"Anna, I can't—"

"You _can_ and you _will_," Anna hissed, cupping her sister's face and bringing it forward. Her heart screamed that was not a good idea, but her mind said to make things clear with Elsa. "I love you. There's no way I'm going to just let you endure the harassment in school when I can do something about it. Understand?"

"It's not right for me to just automatically win! It's something I have to earn, Anna," the blonde explained. "I love you, too. Which is why I'm so against this!"

"Elsa, that doesn't matter right now. I've been an Archetype for two years now, yes. No one is making me a target for bullying if I lose in this one. You, on the other hand... You're a different story." That came out a lot harsher than she intended, but she couldn't take them back right now.

Elsa furrowed her brows and frowned. She felt insulted. Did Anna seriously think she was _that_ defenseless and weak? "I never said I needed your protection to begin with."

Anna's face took on a look of dismay. She wanted to go on a tirade, but bit back the urge to do so. A rant wouldn't help anyone, and she knew it. Why couldn't Elsa just listen to her? Why couldn't Elsa just see that what she did and still does is with her best interest in mind?

The blonde sighed, seeing the unspoken exasperation in her sister's eyes and sank in her seat. There was no point in arguing. It would just prove to cause more problems for them both.

So, in a mutual unspoken consensus, they sat in silence.

The dead conversation was left hanging at that when the audience began to file back in shortly after. Mr. Weselton returned, decked out with a casual suit, and began again, "Now, Hans Isles and Eugene Fitzherbert!"

The designated contestants climbed onto the newly cleaned and dried stadium, gave one another a mutual handshake, and stood at attention.

"Begin!" the white haired man pronounced, shooting his arm downwards.

In an instant, the shadow weaver disappeared, sinking down into his own dark blob on the ground.

Hans was stuck eyeing the place where he last saw his opponent. Slowly backing up and inching towards an end of the stadium, he kept sweeping his eyes across the stage, but found no trace of Eugene. When his back hit the wall, he smirked. He knew his back was vulnerable, especially when his opponent could appear at any time and any place he chose.

From Hans' shadow, Eugene's own dark form emerged, dark arms stretching out and making itself known. One held a lance, the other seemed to deftly aim at the unaware redhead.

The tension became palpable by the stillness of the stadium. The crowd was utterly silent as they watched in anticipation.

Eugene's murky hand clamped onto Hans' leg from behind, before proceeding to toss the redhead in a general direction.

The illusionist fell, somersaulting across the ground a few times before regaining his balance and shooting upright into a ready stance. His eyes shot in every direction for a hint at where his opponent was. He was practically an open target ripe for the picking as he stood in the center of the ring. If anything, he knew the shadow weaver would not let the chance to attack slip by him. All he had to do was find him and force him out of his dark little hiding spot. Easy enough, he supposed.

A piercing sound of wind being cut, and Hans was suddenly aware of the shadow lance streaming towards him at an incredible speed. Eugene was still nowhere to be seen. The redhead knew he wouldn't win at this rate. He solidified his footing and bearings, reaching his arms out to catch the weapon hurtling towards him.

From the shadows, the brown haired student watched with a smirk as Hans flew backwards. He managed to catch the assaulting device, but was now zooming towards the wall.

The illusionist grimaced as he rammed into the wall from behind, the air leaving his lungs in a blast of pain. The murky form in his hands dissolved, and he was left weakly taking a step forward, then another, before lurching ahead with arms wrapped around himself, and convulsing on the ground with a dull _thud_.

After a moment, it was clear that Hans had stopped moving, and made no effort to do so any longer. Eugene stepped out of the shadows, smirking in victory.

Mr. Weselton, wide-eyed began to announce, "Hans Isles has been rendered incapable of rising, so the winner of this match is Eug—"

Before the teacher could finish, Hans' body exploded into a thick gas, spreading violently across the stadium like the plague of death. The mist stretched even into the audience areas, where the spectators were made blind to the happenings within the heavy veil of white and grey.

Eugene looked left, then right. And before he knew what was happening, he was being surrounded by thick black silhouettes. He was cornered against the walls of the fighting arena and his suddenly multiplied amount of opponents closing in on him. He held up his arm, intending to shoot his shadow lance outward, but nothing happened.

"Block out the sun and the shadow weaver is just a mere sitting duck," Hans' voice reverberated throughout the stadium. Even the audience heard it despite it sounding nothing more than a hushed whisper. "You have nowhere to left to hide. No shadows to cling to. You're open and bare. Surrender to your own dark and abysmal shadows..."

The shadow weaver flinched, feeling himself go flush against the wall. As the figures zeroed in on him, he fought to keep his voice from escaping in a rasped cry of terror.

"Goodnight," the illusionist's voice lulled as the dark forms threw a clean uppercut to Eugene's face.

Eugene flew to the air, and when he plummeted back to the ground, Hans gave him a mighty kick to the stomach. The strength behind it sent him skidding to the other side of the arena, where he stopped, battered with bruises and lacerations.

Hans, satisfied he did his fair share of entertainment with as minimal effort as possible, called off the fog and stood victorious in the center of the stadium.

The crowd was in confusion. Mr. Weselton paused, making sure he had seen things correctly. Hans was standing before them, and it was Eugene who lay defeated. How was that possible in no more than two minutes?

The illusionist grimaced at the teacher on the podium. He thought irately to himself, w_hen is he going to announce my victory?_

Finally sobered by the intense look he was being given by the victor, Mr. Weselton spoke into the bullhorn, "Hans Isles, the illusionist, is the winner of the second match!"

The crowd cheered, impressed by the turn of events. They didn't know what happened inside that field of smoke, but to be able to turn the tables in just two minutes was rather impressive.

Mr. Oaken came forward, taking the fallen student into his arms and exiting to take him to the nurse's office. He met Rapunzel halfway when she came jumping down from the audience area using her hair. He nodded his head and pulled out his communicator when the tangler whispered into his ear. They both left the stadium.

The younger Arendelle sister amongst the crowd clung to her armchair as she eyed Eugene before he vanished from sight behind closed doors. She knew what Hans did. Just from looking at the first formation of the mist, she knew instantly Hans had cheated and only used his powers. There was that obvious absence of his weapon. But, the match was now over, and she had no evidence to support her claim. She wouldn't be able to process the offence to the administrators' knowledge.

It was not lost on Elsa how Anna sat with such a rigid posture throughout the entire match. She wanted to hold her hand, but after their earlier conversation ending in stark tension, wasn't quite sure if she should.

"Alright, how was that for a match? That didn't even last ten minutes!" Mr. Weselton spoke, fiddling with his handheld transceiver. "The next match _was_ supposed to be between Rapunzel Corona, the tangler, and Belle Rose, the beauty, but... It appears Rapunzel has forfeited, so the automatic victor is Belle!"

Anna shook her head with a grim smile. That was so typical of Rapunzel, choosing to accompany her injured crush rather than worry about him during her match. It was a smart move, she admitted. Had she went on to compete with worry weighing heavily in her conscience, her fate would have inevitably resulted in defeat.

"So, the next match is between Merida DunBroch, the huntress, and Kristoff Bjorgman, the stone!" the teacher announced.

A redheaded Scottish student came up, holding a bow in one hand and a quiver strapped onto her back. She shook hands with the slightly bulky male who had rope attached to a buckle on his waist. She never really talked to the stone before, but from what she heard, he was _strong..._ and rocky.

Elsa was lost. She wanted to ask Anna what their gifts entailed, but the redhead just seemed totally unapproachable at the moment.

"Huntress," the redhead began, as if reading her mind. Her head was propped on her arm, which rested on her armchair. She was leaning slightly forward and kept her eyes on the stadium.

The startled ice maker squawked out, "Huh?"

"Huntress," Anna repeated a little more loudly. "Whatever weapon she chooses to use, she'll know exactly how to use it at first glance. That bow? She has never missed a target before. And if she did, it was never because of her skill at aiming. As for Kristoff... He's a giant rock at heart._ Literally_," Anna mumbled, her hand slightly covering her mouth.

"And you're a giant _softy_ at heart," the blonde retorted with a wide smile as she took hold of her sister's hand. She hoped Anna wouldn't swat it away. She really didn't like the thought of arguing with her sister.

Anna grinned and squeezed the hand that gripped her own, though she still kept her eyes on the stage before them. "Only for you, though." That was said so softly, the blonde completely missed it. The fire starter finally knew what she to do, what to say, and how to do it. If all went well, Elsa would emerge the victor of their match, and she wouldn't have to worry about the blonde finding out anything. She got up and dusted her skirt off.

"Anna?"

"I have to use the restroom," the redhead replied lazily as she stretched.

"I'll go with you," Elsa told her as she began to stand.

"N-no, don't. I want to know what happens in this match. Kristoff is a good friend of mine, you know?" Ann said hurriedly, holding her sister down by the shoulders to keep her seated.

The blonde raised a brow in suspicion but nodded in acceptance. "Don't take too long." The fire starter quickly left her line of sight, and she returned to watching the scuffle in time to see Merida launch an arrow, to which Kristoff transformed into a boulder man in response, effectively deflecting the incoming projectile.

The stone whirled his rope as he dodged the incoming barrage of arrows. Shooting his arm forward to latch onto his opponent, the material managed to wrap around the hunter's wrist. With a mighty heave and a grunt, he pulled, causing her to stumble and lose her bow. He planned to make full use of that. He tossed his arm back, which in turn caused Merida to go flying until she hit the ground considerably far away from her weapon.

She let out a pained groan as her eyes began to blur from the impact. Bringing her shoulders up in an attempt to rub her eyes with the short sleeves of her uniform, she could make out the dull grey form of hardened mineral coiling himself into a giant boulder and rolling his way toward her. Shooting upright from her position, she evaded it with a high jump. She soared in the air and produced an arrow from her quiver.

Kristoff halted his advancements and uncoiled himself from the boulder form he took. Looking up, he found Merida bearing down on him with arrow aimed right for him. With his stony hands, he caught the hands on the shaft of the arrow and held the redhead in place.

Merida grunted, attempting to pry her hands away from the stone's iron grip. She kicked and flailed, making sure her hits were aimed at his head. She knew nothing she did would really work. She was a huntress; her prey was meant to have skin. Kristoff's transformation involved no form of such an opening for her. It just wasn't her luck.

The stone flipped her back onto the ground and held her in place. He looked over to Mr. Weselton expectantly.

The teacher grimaced. _This was one of the more boring ones_, he thought to himself. He knew what the student wanted. _Quite a gentleman, that boy._ "Ten! Nine! Eight!" he began counting into the bullhorn.

The huntress winced. She wasn't expecting the immobilizing gambit. Hardly anyone ever used it anymore since it required too much effort. Yet, here she was, being pinned to the ground and losing the match through such an uncanny tactic. She frantically wracked her brain for a plan.

"Five! Four! Three!" Mr. Weselton continued with a yawn.

The redhead looked everywhere, he eyes darting from one point to another. How does one defeat a man made of stone with nothing but bow and arrows?! Her eyes landed on Kristoff's rope, held up by his belt. She couldn't move her hands in the position she was in. Her feet were useless with her being little more than a stick compared to him. She had no way of countering since her strength didn't nearly come close to his range.

"Two!"

The vice-like grip wouldn't relent. She tried to free herself but she was just tiring herself out. Sometimes she thought she was too stubborn for her own good.

"One! _Zero_!" the white haired man finished dramatically.

Merida let out a defeated sigh and slumped back, her eyes closed.

Kristoff got off of her and brushed away some dirt his uniform picked up. His clothes were tattered, as it always was after he transformed, but he didn't mind. With a smile, he offered his hand to his opponent. "Great match, Merida."

The huntress knew she lost. But, at least the match was fair and square. And her opponent was being a good sport. That was rare, too. She relented and took his hand. "Thanks," she breathed, her Scottish accent ringing.

That prompted the audience to cheer.

"The winner of the fourth match, the stone, Kristoff Bjorgman!" the referee announced.

* * *

"Up, _now_," Anna said, fighting to keep herself from making a snark comment. She was starting to second guess her initial intention in finding the redheaded illusionist.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. We need to talk, Hans." The fire starter frowned, displeased from the lack of cooperation. Then again, what did she even expect?

"And why should I? For the past two years now, all you've done is held animosity towards me." The illusionist was stubborn, crossing his arms in a show of ill will.

"With good reason!" Anna pointed out in exasperation. "I didn't come to talk to you about our relationship; I came to talk about Elsa."

"I'm listening," Hans replied with an expectant look.

Anna tried her best not to punch him for the sudden interest he displayed. "I want you to do me a favor..."

"It's going to cost you," Hans said, smirking triumphantly. "And it's going to be a huge fee. Favors from me are expensive. What more from someone I personally like to keep away from?"

_God, this ass._ Anna leaned her back against the wall of the secluded audience area. "What do you want?"

Hans smirked. "Well..." he drawled. "You're in for a treat."

The fire starter's lips twitched. "Just spit it out!"

The illusionist's face lit up. He opened his mouth and let the words spill.

**A/N: **Thanks for the awesome reviews, guys! :D Totally made my day when I read them, and gave me so much motivation to write more. Shout-out to anon reader _Miss Kay _for taking the time to make me laugh continuously with passionate reviews. ;) And, of course, special thanks to _CinnamonPearl517 _for not only giving the best constructive criticisms and advice ever, but for beta reading this chapter! You're the best, Cin~ ^^v This chapter is totally dedicated to you. :3 So... Review for me, guys~? :D


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